Noctum Will Rise
by Lammybug
Summary: What once was cold will now burn. The darkness will rise. The cold war is over.
1. Noctum

A/N: I've gone and written another one but this time entirely surrounding Noctis. Inspiration was.. well you will have guessed by the end of the story. May or may not turn into a full retelling. For now, it looks like more of a prequel to Star Crossed.

Disclaimer: As always this is purely for entertainment purposes. I am just borrowing.

Noctum Will Rise

Oh, how the might have fallen. Of what good was it to be so far ahead of everyone else? What good was it to be so sophisticated when faced with death? Once so prosperous that it thought to hide itself in isolation to the outside world. Concealing all the great accomplishments and advancements and for what? To see a grand dynasty all but disappear. For there is only one now, that remains.

He sits there, upon a lone throne in an empty room. As opulent and resplendent as the room appears, it is still empty. There is no life within. It is cold and dark with only the bright rays of the moon to give forth light. The air is vast but it is not silent. It feels haunted and ill at ease.

This, is a powerful kingdom with a false sense of peace. The war does not rage in public but whispers in the dark. It is cold and black. The tendrils of its bitterness make even the strong shiver. These are dangerous times and the people are growing restless with their fear. They only have one noble prince. It was only his powers and the crystals that kept the panic at bay. Yet, the knowledge that he was the last, weighs heavily upon their hearts. When he has gone, there would be no saving them from the storm outside their barriers.

It is twilight in the sky. The lone hour before sunrise and it is most difficult to keep the inner demons at bay. The moon is still full and bright. It's a shining beacon that makes the blackness beautiful. People are awoken by the sounds of rushing metal outside in the streets. The scared remain in their beds with racing hearts and beads of sweat. The braver creep to peer beyond their drawn curtains to see armored soldiers make their way past. These are not from among them. They are outsiders and they are making their way to the castle. They are heading towards the prince.

Noctis sits upon his throne. There is no one else but him. Yet it is not exactly loneliness that he feels. He has friends. Not just friends, but companions that he can trust. Yet there is something that he can never share with them. Something that he does not want to share with anyone. A thing that keeps him awake at night when they can sleep at ease. For it is at night that the whispers are loudest and he dreams in nightmares of things frightening and terrifying. His room holds no solace for him so he stays where he feels the whispers less magnified. It's in the empty room that holds his throne and there he sits, trying to block the haunting darkness that surrounds him.

He looks as if he has dozed but he senses everything. Something is wrong. There is something wrong outside. He feels the presence of too many men and none of them familiar. It is foolish to be surprised. People always want what they do not have and he knows he possesses what they want. The war could not stay in the shadows forever. What once was cold will now burn. It's knocking outside his door now and he will answer it.

There is no fear as he walks out the great doors and into the night. For what else is there for him to fear? He blinks slowly at the scene before him. His guards lay dead at his feet and there is a large regiment in front of him. It is not a subtle display and he is displeased. A lone, talented assassin would have been more effective but this, this blatant display of disrespect upon his kingdom, upon his power is insulting. It is not wise to be this obvious. He wants to shake his head at their ignorance but decides it is not worth it. There are many, but there are not enough. Even the ones climbing down the walls above are not enough. They look at him in surprise and they hesitate as he looks at them. They did not expect him to appear alone and seemingly unharmed.

No, they are not wise, at all.

It's only a second later and Noctis has raised his foot to take the first descending step. They've recovered their wits and one opens fire. Then more open fire. Their efforts do not cause him to falter in his descent. Its with confident steps that he approaches and his powers flair. With a flourish, he grabs his favorite weapon and there is no more thought. What is left is reaction and instinct. He looks so graceful and so natural in his movements. His moves are precise and he is thorough. Soldiers fall and the remaining can use all their remaining ammo, but it will prove to be in vain.

When he tires of the ones on the ground, he begins on the ones upon the walls. One by one, swing by swing, fall by fall, they all go down until he lands on his feet in the exact spot upon which he had first entered the scene. There is blood on his sword and bodies surrounding him. But they are not finished. Bullets do not work. So they throw something bigger, something louder. That fails too and they have nothing left. He flashes them a glare of warning from over his shoulder before making his way back inside. He returns as calmly as he had departed.

Again, he sits upon his throne and thinks. This is insult. A failed attempt on his life. He knew what was to come next. An official courier would deliver a message post haste. An envoy would come. There would be denials and apologies. They cannot take him by force so they will try something else. A treaty will be offered and he may pretend to comply. But the war has already begun. They have forced his hand to action. He will leave the confines of his city and bring the war to their doorstep this time.


	2. When Dark Meets Light

Chapter Two: When Dark Meets Light

Sleep is inevitable and as necessary as the dawn of a new day. No matter what anyone thinks or feels, the moon cannot shine without the sun. It is such with being awake is as vital as being asleep. They reflect each other and yet do not. Both are needed and will succumb to the other. As much as he hates to sleep, it claims even him. Sometimes it is not so bad. Most times it is that bad and he wishes he could forget the things that he's forced to see.

In those dreams where it is not so terrifying, he sees what could only be a glimpse at happier times. Back to a period before the nightmares entrapped him. It is in this reality that he wishes he can stay. He is very young, a mere boy. He does know how exactly how young, but life is simple. His emotions are full of simple things. He knows love from his mother and respect from his father. He knows careless laughter with his father and warmth from his mother.

Father is full of enthusiasm and mischief. Mother is full of grace and indulgence. They are familiar and they are home. There are others, but his world consists of mother and father. They are his haven and he feels that it is only with them that he is free. Mother is sunshine and flowers and brightness. Father is endless protection and strength. He hears father making them laugh and mother hiding her soft, quiet laughter behind her hand. This is the world he wants to stay in. These are the dreams that he doesn't want to wake from.

Then there are the other dreams. He is still that little boy, but he knows no comforts. There is no mother and there is no father. Alone he stands in front of a door. There is a light. The light seems so bright that it blinds him. He sees it, even with his eyes closed and he raises a hand to shield the rays. Then an image appears in front of him. No, not an image but a person and he's not sure who it is. It seems both breathtakingly beautiful and repulsively disgusting all together. It stands there beckoning him to walk through the door. It's not safe and it's not home. So, he runs and feels arms like tentacles ghosting behind his back. Instinctively he knows it's straining with all its might to grab him. Only it can't. He stays just beyond its reach and it screeches out in anger. It rings so loud that he stops to clutch his head. The grotesque arms snatch him up and he screams.

_NOOOO!!!_

Noctis jerks and gives lets out a small gasp as he sits upright in the backseat. Heart racing and chest pounding he looks at the city skyline, with the vibrant moon above and the ever present light that only he seems to see.

"Prince Noctis, are you all right?" asks the driver.

He catches his eye through the rear view mirror. "I am fine."

The driver knows better than to ask again and says instead, "We are almost there, my Lord."

He makes an uncommitted sound of understanding and leans upon his hand. There is no time to dwell on nightmares right now. He can think about them later, when it's only him and the darkness and the whispers that are never silent. He takes a breathe within his nostrils and clears his mind.

Just as he had predicted, a day had passed since the attempt on his life and exactly as predicted, an official courier from Tenebrae arrived. There were many "sincere" condolences on such a frightful scare. There followed by the utmost assurances that there are no hostilities between them and even an offer to help with the investigation of these fiends. These fiends who would dare to harm the noble prince, last of the Caelum clan. How that mention made him all the more suspicious. Investigation... He knew and they knew, that neither the soldiers nor their weapons would be traced to anyone. That hadn't stopped his men from trying. They were trying still, to find something definitive. If they did, he'd be very surprised.

The car reaches the rendezvous point and a valet swiftly comes to open the door for him. Finely crafted shoes step out onto the pavement, followed by an impeccably tailored suit and spikey black hair. There are eyes that appear blue but they change. They can be blue and they can be red and somewhere in between. Right now they are blue and just as vibrant as any crystal. Some people stare as he stands there, with the moon as a backdrop. He belongs to the night as much as the suit has been crafted for his build. He steps away from the car and begins his walk along the carpeted floor to the entrance of the tower. As he walks he does not smile yet his face is not cold, merely guarded. He makes eye contact with those sure enough to look back and continues through the doorway that's being held by two awaiting guards.

An official visit deserved an elaborate dinner and there was nothing more so than having it while enjoying the stunning views of the city beneath. It was romantic to those that were fanciful, ostentatious to those that were pompous and impressive to those that were smart enough to know what it meant. From the views to the structure of the building, it told you of remarkable power and skill. It showed you the entire, vastness of the city and the ingenuity of the ones that built it. All this, while you ate.

As the prince and a native, these were not the things that he had really concerned himself with. This place was strategic in every sense of the word. The height would guarantee that nobody would try an attack. It offered clear views of anything coming nearby and it was too high for any foot soldiers. Not when the elevators did not work for just anyone. Of course, it meant that he would be isolated with those who would take what was his family's, but it was a small price to pay for assurance. It was not that he feared death. He feared the loss of his family's legacy.

The elevator shaft was clear, affording you the view as you flew up to the top, the speed giving you a feeling of heaviness as you're pressed firmly on your feet. There were no need for guards, but they had assigned three to ride up with him. All wore helmets and armor. Their identities hidden by shadowed visors. He smirks at them and they bow when the elevator doors open to the dining area and he steps out. The dining hall is large and grand with a floor to ceiling aquarium with the most exotic of fishes. Along the floor were many people of different stations. All of them are dressed in their finest, with flashy attire and perfectly coiffed hair. He recognizes many of them and receives many bows of acknowledgment. A whisper of a groan wants to escape his lips but he remains impassive. He's thankful that he does not have to smile back. These dinners are never something that he likes to come to and socialize in.

Almost, immediately he is greeted by his highest official. "Ah, my Lord. You have come." He is wearing what he always wears to these official events. A sharply cut pin striped suit and slicked back peppered hair. He's older and could easily be seen as father figure for him, but his father he is not. His entire presence signifies power and strength with a face that knows many frowns. He's never been entirely easy around this man, but he has had no choice but to trust him.

"Lord Aenigma," he addresses with a nod. His eyes move towards who he can only guess is the envoy from Tenebrae. The man must be in his early forties and looks to have once been very handsome when he had been younger. The years had hardened the lines between his eyes and he's forgotten what it was to be a soldier. His hands were soft, as was his body. A little too soft. He had an easy smile and a calm demeanor. Maybe, if he hadn't been so observant, Noctis may have trusted the man on sight. Only, soldiers did not grow soft and overindulgent over the years. They remained as they were, soldiers.

"Might I introduce you to Lord Nuntius," offers Aenigma with an extension of his arm.

"I am most honored to be a guest within your city, your Majesty," Nuntius responds with a flourish of a bow.

"Welcome to our fair city, Lord Nuntius," responds Noctis.

"Ah yes, very fair indeed Highness."

"Was your journey a good one?"

"Very. I was most eager to assure you of our country's total compliance with any help you need with your investigation. It was most alarming to hear there was such an attempt on your life, my Lord."

A naïve person would have believed his words to be in all sincereness, but Noctis was not paying attention to the pretty words spilling forth from the man's mouth. He nods at the man's words but he has caught sight of someone else.

"Might we start dinner now, my Lord?" offers Aenigma, drawing his attention and he's gesturing towards the elaborate table before them. It's situated just so, to afford the best views of the city. With Noctis' seat at the foot, with the best view.

During dinner, he gives the appearance that he could not have cared any less about being there. Playing the role of an ignorant and self obsessed prince while his dignitaries said the necessary things and accepted the predictable terms of treaty. He eats sparsely but listens carefully. Under black bangs he pays close attention to the subtle body language of those in the Tenebrae party. He can tell who is most opposed to his rule and those who are more concerned with themselves.

Though his eyes are drawn, he keeps them firmly on the plate in front of him. They want to stare at the girl on the other end of the table. She's dressed all in white and her blonde hair gently falls past her shoulders. She's absolutely stunning in her brilliance and he cannot help the desire to look upon her. Yet he must deny himself that. Even with his eyes firmly fixed on his plate, she's taken up too much of his attention. He is aware of her more than anyone else in the room and that is a problem. For he cannot, he will not show his interest. It is not a time to reveal how magnetic she is to him. She had to have been brought as a trap to him. No, that was not it. It was not her physical beauty that captured him. It was in her aura. How it shone like a halo around her body and made him wonder, just wonder if maybe she would understand his perpetual night. Was it not true that secretly, the dark craves the light?

There is only one other place that would be safe for him to occupy his eyes and they are above. His eyes goes up to see the light. Its luminescence is strong and it allows him to temporarily forget about the girl who has caused him so much distraction. The whispers he usually tries to block out seem a welcome reprieve. They distract him enough to help his facade of casual indifference to those around him.

Yet, it is later, when he knows that she has walked up the stairs to the observation deck alone, that he cannot help himself any longer. His feet take him where he knows he will find her. Trying to stop himself seems futile, because he needs to grant himself this. The dark craves the light afterall. He was drawn to her even as he felt compelled to draw away.

He's thankful that her back is turned because then he can gaze upon her without being seen. Though he can, he does not make his approach silent. He doesn't want her to be surprised and fearful. He wants her to know he is there and see her face as she reacts to him.

...And there, she turns and he's given a full view of her magnificence. Her slow and brilliant smile mesmerizes him and he feels the need to walk closer even while the rest of him knows he must stay far away from her. He does not see any malice nor any ill will but he cannot let himself walk any closer. Instead, he stops a few feet away with his back to her.

"Lord Noctis," he hears and it's the most melodic voice he's ever heard. "You can see the light? Right?"

Her question startles him and he feels almost excited. She knows of the light? He steps toward to walk towards her but stops when she looks up at the sky and his eyes follow hers. Curiously, he turns to watch the expression of wonderment on her face. He can't help but feel shaken at what this means. There is nothing he can do but look at her in awe.

"Was that what you were looking at from downstairs?" she asks, walking towards him.

This puts him on guard and he turns and walks away. This is not something to be casually mentioned amongst strangers. "Pretty much. When did you start seeing it?" He asks this casually, almost nonchalantly, but his mind is racing.

"When I was a child," she answers softly.

"A near death experience, I presume?" His tone is convincingly calm, but he sympathizes more than anyone else can.

"Yes.. you too?" there is something in her voice when she asks that compels him to answer.

"It was pretty horrible," he answers with a shrug and a shake of his head. That is something he does not wish to think about anymore than he does already.

He listens intently as she tells him about the legend of her people and even falters slightly in his steps at what she says. "The goddess Etro shall open the gate welcoming the souls of the dead. When that occurs, a bright light shall shine down through the skies from the land of the dead. That is the legend. It's a Tenebrae legend."

"We've got the same legend here," he said as if this is common knowledge but his heart and mind are racing. The same legend in two lands. Especially two lands as distant as theirs.

"Did the light give you power?" she asks coyly with a slight tilt to her head.

"No, I don't need anything like that. I'm fine how I am," he says it to throw her off.

"I know, right? No matter what kind of power it is, if its at the cost of someone's life... It would give me nightmares."

Like his. "Same. It's a ridiculous bedtime story... You shouldn't talk to other people about the light," he warns.

"How come?"

"Being different from others can cause a lot of trouble..." he says as he sits upon one of the many couches on the side. He leaves the sentence unfinished. He wonders if she would catch his words. "Don't you think?"

"But if its just a bedtime story, what do you think the light really is?" They both stare at the light together before he turns back towards her.

"It's just something that's there. Isn't that enough?" No, it's not enough but he wishes the light had never existed to him. He rises to leave. "Um, you are..."

"Stella," she answers.

"Stella... I should be going."

"Thank you for your time, Prince Noctis."

"Just Noct is fine." He wants to tell her that he really is no prince and he doesn't realize that he's smiling genuinely at her. There's a moment of awkwardness and he realizes that he does not really want to go just yet.

"I have to go too," she says to break the tension as she starts to leave. She's made a few steps away from him and he's stepped toward her without even thinking about it. She stops and turns towards him again to say, "I feel like I've received something from the light tonight... I got a chance to speak with you." She looks briefly upwards to emphasize her point and smiles at him again.

He allows himself a smirk and shrugs. "Well now you'll have nightmares," he jokes.

"You're a mean one, aren't you, Prince Noctis?" she ask but he's made her laugh and it does something funny to him.

"Noct," he reminds her.

"I'll call you that the next time we meet. You should come to Tenebrae sometime. I'll show you around."

"That sounds interesting. I'll think about it." He gives her his best smirk, full of the smug a pompous prince as he's known to be, would.

She smiles another brilliant smile at him and rushes away. He watches her until she's out of sight before looking upwards to the light that he thought only he could see.

_Who are you? _ He hears whispered.

"That's my line," he whispers angrily at the voices before walking back down the stairs.

Though the party is far from finished, he is done for the night. As he makes his way towards the elevators he thinks over his conversation with her, with Stella. She's shaken him more than she could ever realize. He's wondered over those questions countless times but could never voice them to anyone. Had she felt that in this, he had been alone? Hearing those questions spoken out loud was both comforting and disturbing. To find someone that he could truly connect with and his heart rejoiced in it. Whether she knew it or not. Whether he wanted it or not. They were both connected now and he was afraid of it. He was afraid of her and for her.

Standing within the elevator cabin, watching the floor quickly come closer and closer, he knew. This was just the beginning. This meeting would unfold a chain of events that he was now powerless to stop. There was no turning back. He knew that she must know this too. Their lives were now entwined and he feels guilt as much as he feels fear but a part of him cannot help but feel happy too. He who was nothing but the blackness had no business tainting the brilliance of one such as she. Yet he knew he could not stay away from her. For, the dark craves the light, doesn't it?


	3. Brothers

A/N: I am going to keep my Profile updated as much as possible so please check back to it for background points. This chapter makes me nervous because I've named the nameless and none of their names are official. I hope you will bear with me on that. When we get their official names, I will change them. For now I'm flying blind. So, after doing a bit of research and keeping the Latin based name theme that Normura and Co are going with, these are what I have come up with.

Chapter Three: Brothers

He is thankful for the powers that he has been gifted. It wasn't entirely a lie that his powers came from within but he knows that his traumatic experiences in childhood helped shape the things he can do now. The things he could do were not entirely human nor was it entirely inhuman. It was just something else, something not normal. It was something that just was and it was gifted to him. Much like the crystals have been gifted to each new generation of his family from the founding of their city. It was given and possessed and that was all he knew. That was all he was forced to accept.

Since his powers first began to manifest, he knew it was something that he could not openly expose to everyone. He remembers a warning and has heeded it ever since. Just as he never openly speaks of seeing the light. People feared and panicked in the face of things that they did not understand and they would never understand the things he can do and the things he can see. It would scare them. It would terrify them. It's a burden he must bear for being what he was and who he was. Which is why he is so thankful for his friends that he considers to be his brothers. Then, there was now Stella and thinking of her at this moment was too distracting so he pushes images of her face from his mind.

It's not quite so late and Noctis stands at the ready atop another high rise. He waits for his cue and thinks back on the events that led him to be there.

That morning, before the party...

"Noct, you're so lucky. I hear Tenebrae chicks are hawt!"

"You idiot," growls Vires with a roll of his eyes. His large arms are folded across his chest.

"Figures," adds Sapien.

"You can go in my place, Des," offers Noctis as he smirks at his friend. He's only half joking.

"Really?!" exclaims Desipio, his face beaming.

"No, not really," blurts Vires and it looks like he's very close to hitting the younger man.

"Oh come on man! I could go as your bodyguard."

"You are his bodyguard," Sapien points out matter-of-factly. He looks over the rims of his glasses to give Des a pointed look.  
"You know what I mean!" cries Des as his arms begin to flail.

"You know we're never invited to official galas!" growls Vires. One of his arms is poised to punch Des. They were the bodyguards to make him look like just another punk kid on the street and not for official appearances like this. They were the bodyguards that helped Noctis walk about the streets incognito.

"Sounds good to me," says Noctis with a shrug.

"What?" asks Sapien, turning to look at him in surprise.

"There is no reason why you can't go," he offers.

"You're serious?" asks Vires.

"This is a special occasion and you are my friends. Why not?"

"See!" shouts Des as he claps his hands. "We're gonna hook up with some hawt chicks."

"You would have to be going as armored guards," warns Noctis.

"That means we'll be all covered up!"

"Imagine," offers Sapien with a smirk. "The ladies will not be able to see where you are looking."

Vires roars a laugh as Noctis smirks and Des ponders the idea.

"You are such a genius, Sapien," Des slaps him on the shoulder, causing his glasses to fall forward.

"I know," he responds and casually pushes his glasses back into place.

"Hey Noct, maybe then you could finally hook up with some chick there too."

"Not on your life."

"Come on! I'll give you pointers."

"You?!" cries Vires in disbelief.

"What? The ladies love me!" Des protests. "I have a big rifle."

Both Sapien and Noctis snort in answer and Vires barks a laugh. He looks like he wants to add something but Noctis shakes his head to stop him.

"What?! What's so funny?"

"You, you fool!" shouts Vires.

"You do remember that time...?" asks Sapien.

"Yeah, I bet you still have a scar from that girl's heel hidden in that bush of a head of yours," finishes Vires and roars with laughter.

"It was that one time!" Des protests loudly.

"You'll never live it down," points out Sapien with a grin.

"I think we need to do what we are here to do," interrupts Noctis but he's laughing and it feels so good to laugh. "Are we here to practice or are we going to stand around like a bunch of old grumps?"

"Even though he moves like one already," motions Vires to Des.

"First you question my manhood, now I move like an old gramps?" cries Des in indignation, his trusty rifle raised. "Who you callin' slow you big maggot!" His mouth has spoken before he can think again and before he's properly realized it, he's faced with over 6 feet, 200 plus pounds of muscle.

Vires gives chase while Des tries his best to deflect the bigger man's attacks.

Noctis looks at Sapien and both of them roll their eyes. "You want to stop it this time?" offers Noctis.

His friend smirks. "I want to see that trick you did the last time," he answers with a flash of mischief behind his glasses.

"The one Des said never to do again?" There's a matching look of mischief on his face.

"Yep," Sapien answers as he takes a step back to give him room.

Noctis turns to his still squabbling friends and his rune flashes. His grins knowing that it's not as visible in the daylight. His weapons begin their rapid spin around him, completely in his control. Des is thoroughly distracted with his head in a lock with Vires' arm securely wrapped around it. He suspects Vires knows what he's about to do because he loosens his grip around Des. Des, who jerks free of Vires' grip and shouts triumphantly, arms in the air and rifle high above his head. It's a more comical picture when he a split second later...

He lets out a cry as the wind is knocked out of him and two of Noctis' swords are piercing through the shoulders of his shirt, pinning him to the ground. The rush of the impact causes the back of his head to bang noisily against the floor. It's not enough to render him unconscious or do any real damage but he swears he can see stars in his vision for a second.

"Dagnabbit, Noct! I told you never to do that again!" he shouts as the two swords dissolve and he's free again. "That's another good shirt you've ruined!" He makes a show of looking through the two holes on either side of shoulders and groans out loud.

"That's what you get for wearing good shirts when we're supposed to be training," states Sapien.

Noctis turns to look at Vires, who's rubbing the back of his head but he doesn't complain like Des always does. He never wears his good shirts to training.

"Sorry," offers Noctis but he does not look very sorry at all. "I still haven't quite perfected that part of my telekinesis."

"You mean when you're not intending to kill your opponent," provides Des as he rubs his head furiously. He's ruffled his hair and it's sticking out all over the place.

"What do you need to learn that for? Kill or be killed," asks Vires.

"Sometimes the hardest thing is to restrain," explains Sapien. "He needs to be more than just a killer."

"That's what he's got us for," shrugs Des.

Sapien nods as Vires scratches his chin. They're all worrying about the same thing.

"I am fine," emphasizes Noctis and he's a little annoyed that they're even worrying about it.

"It was the first time you actually had to kill someone," points out Des without any tact.

"I am fine," he says again.

"We should have been there," growls Vires and he's angry at himself for failing not only his friend, but his liege.

"There is no need to worry about me." He looks at Sapien and frowns at the look of worry on his friend's face. "Really," he presses.

"It's not just the killing," explains Vires.

"I know," Noctis replies.

"How did you explain things to Aenigma?" asks Sapien.

"They killed all my guards. I did not have a choice," he says simply.

"But you had to expose yourself," presses Sapien.

"Yeah, nobody was supposed to know you could move like that," Des points out. Ever the tactful one.

"It complicates things," says Sapien and that is an understatement if there ever was one.

"They're going to know that you don't really need us anymore," says Vires.

"That is not true. I will always need the three of you," says Noctis. Without his friends he knows he will go mad from the blackness. Then he would be completely alone, alone with the dark whispers and nightmares and the thought terrifies him.

"Does that mean that I don't get to come to the castle anymore? Where am I gonna get the good food, then?" cries Des.

Just like that, he feels the tension within him settle and he manages a chuckle. As unrefined as Desipio is, he knows how to break the awkwardness with his own.

"You fool! That isn't what's important here," growls Vires, but underneath, there's a smile too.

"Then what is?" asks Des and he's go genuinely confounded that you cannot be mad at him.

Except maybe Vires, who looks like he's about to smack the back of the younger man's head.

"We tried our best to hide how good you are," states Sapien. He's always the logical one. "He may have suspected before but he knows for sure now."

"For all he knows, it was a moment of desperation on my part."

"I know how you fight and I know how well the cameras are in front of the palace," replies Sapien and he knows what he means. Noctis would have looked too collected and too in control. A far cry from the desperate, panicked, controllable boy that he was supposed to be.

"That is why I had you delete the footage."

"That's just delaying the inevitable. There could have been something, someone else who saw you. Not to mention the ones you left alive. Aenigma isn't a stupid man," warns Sapien.

"There's something else," says Noctis, changing the subject. There were other things that needed to be dealt with first. There was no need to dwell on that now. "I want to see the bodies of the soldiers."

"Ick. What for?" asks Des.

"I just have to. I am not sure why but I think I might find something."

"What makes you think they still have them at the morgue?" asks Vires.

"Sounds creepy," shivers Des.

"Whatever happened to the ones that you left alive?" asks Vires.

"I doubt all of them were captured and the ones that were, were killed."

"Before they were interrogated?" asks Vires.

"Apparently, it was a suicide mission. If any were captured, they all had poison tablets in their suits," answered Sapien. He'd hacked into the Caelum mainframe. "But that could be a bunch of bull."

"So I need to see those bodies. I can't trust what is written in the official reports."

"That means you need us to get you in without you getting noticed," nods Vires.

"Yes," confirms Noctis with a nod of his own. He can only do it with their help and they're the only ones he can completely trust.

_You will not like what you find_, whispers that voice in the air causing Noctis to narrow his eyes.

"It has to happen tonight," he says. "Tonight, while everyone is at the party."

"What did you have in mind? A full on attack on our own to get inside? I'm sure that place is heavily guarded," suggests Des and he's forgotten his disgust of going to a morgue at the prospect of getting into a fight.

Vires merely rolls his eyes and sighs in exasperation. Noctis smirks and Sapien doesn't even deign that with a response.

"Something a little more subtle," he answers.

Which is what has led him to be here, watching the smaller building and waiting. He can see the street below and the guards keeping watch at the front gate. He's already witnessed a few people, Sapien being one of them, coming and going through the front but not many. Night shift had already begun and he wonders why more than a couple come in so late. There is no pedestrian foot traffic on the streets in the area this late into the night so being seen would not be a problem.

"I'm in," he hears in his ear piece.

"Copy that. Let me know when you're in position," he commands as he looks all the way down.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" he hears the hesitation in Sapien's voice.

"I'll be fine," and he tries to not sound as annoyed as he feels.

"That is a long fall," adds Vires.

"You guys are worse than a bunch of nannies."

"That's our job!" proclaims Des and he almost cringes from the high volume.

Noctis rolls his eyes, even though he knows none of them can see him. "I do not plan on dying tonight."

"Good cause we'd be out of a job.. Ow!"

"Quiet you," hisses Vires.

"I'm almost to the A/V room," says Sapien.

"Okay men. It's almost time," he says. "Des? I can count on you, right?"

"Have I ever let you down?"

"Yes," he hears Vires and Sapien say at the same time.

"Hey!"

"Almost in the system. Noct, there are two guards just outside the freezer room. What do you want us to do?"

"Just get me there."

"Right."

"This is too risky. You know that, right?" asks Vires.

"We have to do this," emphasizes Noctis. "At the ready."

"Roger!" three voices responded.

"Recording looping feed now," states Sapien. "10 seconds. Loop, starts... now."

"You're up you two," orders Noctis.

He waits and a moment later he sees Vires and Des approach the two guards standing by the door. There is no hesitation as he jumps off the roof and dives down.

"What do you mean you can't let us in?" he hears Des shout in his ear. "Do you know who we are?" There's a pause, presumably so he can stare at his larger companion.

Noctis doesn't hear the response before Des has cut the guard off and continues his tirade. Continues it at the loudest volume he can muster, that is. It's loud enough to cover over the swish of him teleporting two floors at a time to the ground. He moves quickly because he wants to be inside before Des runs out of things to shout about. Then he's finally inside and he salutes his two friends before disappearing further into the building.

"We'll be back!" he hears Des shout and not only in his ear but from outside. "Just you wait! I have my orders too you incompetent ass!"

"You only have a few minutes," warns Sapien.

"I'm in the building."

"One floor down. Take the stairs. I'll be there waiting."

He can hear talking and teleports to the stairwell door. It hasn't even finished closing softly before he's already on the lower floor, opening the other door. Sapien is waiting for him with his handheld. He's still wearing the white lab coat he had originally worn to enter the morgue in.

"Was that company that you had when you entered?" asks Noctis quietly as they both walked quickly and quietly down the hall to where the bodies are.

"Chatted up a girl who said she was new. What timing," Sapien responds with a shrug. He's staring at his handheld. "The bodies are scheduled for incineration in the morning. Its just around the corner. Two guards."

"I remember," whispers Noctis.

They've reached the corner and he nods to Sapien. With a nod, he types in a few commands on his handheld. "Not good," he says at his regular volume.

"What is it?"

"The guards are already down."

"Someone's already here," says Noctis and in the next second, they're both running full speed towards the room.

Sapien reaches down and checks the unconscious guards for a pulse. "They're alive."

"Come on," says Noctis as he kicks the already partially opened door.

"This must have happened in that split second I was looping the feed. They must have been in a rush," says Sapien as he follows him inside.

There is nothing amiss and the room is empty. Empty of anyone living anyway. Several bodies lay in frozen stasis before them and he gets to see the lifeless faces of the men he's killed for the first time. He feels a strange sort of guilt at seeing them now when he had not hesitated in killing them before.

_Kill or be killed._

"Are you all right?"

"Fine," he answers firmly and his rune is activated. The room fills with the blue of his insignia and the sound of crackling crystals. His right eye glows red as he looks at the bodies again. The things that he sees this way is hard to explain, but he sees things that nobody else can see and its this vision that will tell him what he needs to know. His eyes scan each body quickly.

"I knew it," he says. "They all have a distinct mark on their bodies."

"What does it look like?"

"Not like anything I have ever seen," he answers honestly and there really isn't any way to explain its appearance. They don't have the kind of time right now anyway. But there is one thing for certain, "Whatever made these marks, crystals were involved."

"Like your insignia?"

"No, this looks different."

Suddenly, the alarms have gone off around the complex and sirens appear above them. Without saying a word, both men are out the door and running back down the hall before the building seals itself off completely. Sapien starts typing furiously on his handheld as they're making their way back to the stairs.

"What the... are those the alarms I hear?" asks Des in their ears. "Was that you?"

"Of course not," snaps Sapien. He turns to Noctis. "Get out of here. I'll meet you back at your place."

"Will you be all right?"

"Better me caught than you," says Sapien and he doesn't wait for Noctis to respond before he's gone.

There's no time to think and he's about to teleport to his own escape when he sees a flash of something fly by in the corridor to his right. No, not something. It's someone and he chases after them. White lab coat, glasses and long dark hair are streaking down the hall. Definitely female and they're running too gracefully and purposefully to be running in a panic. That, is the person who triggered the alarm. Even though he risks his own exposure, he doesn't have time to think of an alternative. He teleports right in front of them as they're reaching a window facing the back alleyway.

He's so surprised by who it is, he almost forgets how to speak. Almost.

"Are you here to offer to show me around Tenebrae again?"


	4. Expositus

A/N: Please read my profile for any author's notes. Enjoy!

Chapter Four: Expositus

"This is just a minor set back. Just because the boy seems to have harnessed some ability…"

"It is more than just a minor set back," says Aenigma. The proud man is sitting at the end of a long table in the counsel room. The grand chandelier is blazing above, even though they are meeting in the light of day. The room is large and vast with dark, gothic undertones. Just above their heads, statues with wings are carrying candle bras. Even higher up were caped figures, bowed as if in submission, reaching high up to arched ceilings. It felt as imposing as the figure at the head of the table. The men all around him are ill at ease.

"We knew it would happen one day," says another member of the counsel.

"He must be more powerful than his father," added another.

"His father had never used the power to his full potential."

"And now, it seems Prince Noctis has," comments Aenigma, there's a warning in his voice. He's angry and it makes the other members nervous.

"I thought the video feed was unreadable."

"We recovered something off a street camera a block away from the castle. It's heavily zoomed but it's enough."

"I want to see it," says one member and the sound the other agreeing with him.

There's a nod and a large screen appears behind Aenigma. The video plays. The picture quality is very grainy, even with digital enhancements, but there is a shot of the street. They see the progression of the soldiers to where the castle is, though you cannot see the castle from the camera's angle. There is a continuous firing and there are flashes of light. The group of soldiers suddenly advance towards where the entrance would be. What happens next causes a chilly silence to fill the air of the counsel room. The soldiers fly backwards as if caught in an invisible wave with the an unmistakable blue flash of crystal energy.

"Do we know for sure that it was, indeed, Prince Noctis that caused this?"

"Who else can it be?" hisses another.

"So now, not only do we have an assassination attempt on our own soil. We have a prince who we have greatly underestimated."

"What problem do we address first?"

"What's first is how an entire regiment of militia was successful in not only breaking through our barriers but getting that close to the Prince!" Aenigma ends with a shout. It echoes around them for a moment before its back to the chilling silence.

"What about last night's break in at the morgue?"

Aenigma pinches the bridge of his nose in irritation. "The video feeds were tampered as well."

"But the alarms were tripped."

"Yes, they were but we have no video. All we have is a broken window on the third floor stairwell."

"Crystal residue?"

"Yes," he says looking at all the men sitting around the table. "There is crystal residue."

There's a pause as they all digest this information. "Prince Noctis or someone else?"

"It would be better if it were Prince Noctis."

"Too bad there is no way to confirm," though their technology had greatly advanced in the last century, they had no way to trace the crystal signatures. They knew they were there, but they could never accurately read the patterns. They had not had anyone to test them within the last couple of decades. The King and Queen had died and their son had not manifested his gifts. Or so they had thought.

"What about witnesses?"

"They say everything happened so fast, they are not sure what happened exactly. There was someone and then what looked like two, crashing through the window. It's not very dependable."

"What are we going to do?" one of the other members asks.

"We have all known this would happen," Aenigma states and they all nod with him. "The darkness will rise. The cold war is over."

The image of Aenigma's face and his last words hang in the air, even though he was not really in their presence as the four young men looked at his stern face from a monitor. They were standing atop one of the higher buildings, watching the sun as it started its descent, letting the night take over the world. There was a hard breeze circling them and they could feel the chill in their spines. The war was no longer cold. It was about to boil over.

"I don't get it. Why bother with playing the gracious host when there really is no peace?" asks a very confused Des. He taps his head with the edge of his rifle in thought.

"Naive," states Vires. His heavy arms are crossed and his head is bowed in thought.

"Its politics, Des. Backstabbing is standard issue."

"Why can't they just say, yes or no? It's confusing me," complains Des.

"The counsel will be watching all of us from under a microscope now," Sapien says looking at Noctis.

"So they did have some kind of footage," says Vires.

"You can say it, Sapien," says Noctis speaking for the first time since they had stopped the video feed from the counsel room. He's looking out onto the horizon, arms crossed, with a grim look on his face.

"I did tell you so," responds Sapien but he doesn't sound smug at all. "But at least they don't know for sure that it was you last night at the morgue."

"They're going to test you," says Des.

"I am not worried about me," confesses Noctis. "I am worried about what they are going to do to the three of you." He looks up at his three companions.

"Eh, don't worry about us, Noct. We'll be fine," reassures Des. "But it does warm my heart that you care so much."

"You have more important things to worry about," agrees Vires.

"We all chose to keep that secret for you. We can take responsibility for our actions," states Sapien.

"But I,..."

"I wonder how they'll test you. Probably all sneaky like," thinks Des aloud while rubbing his chin.

"You're catching on," says Sapien.

"You guys don't give me enough credit."

"It was you who made sure I got into the morgue last night," reminds Noctis with a smile.

"Oh yeah! You know you always freak me out when you do that thing."

"Its called teleporting," he explains.

"Too bad you can't take people with you. That would be so weird and cool at the same time!"

Noctis doesn't answer. There is no way to describe what it feels like to teleport like he does. It's hard to describe how it feels when he does the many things that he can do.

"You, like that girl, don't you?" asks Sapien, suddenly.

"What makes you say that?" asks Noctis and immediately he wants to kick himself. He's already slipped. He's just confirmed Sapien's implied question by not even bothering to hide the fact that he knew exactly to whom he was referring. He knows for sure that he's not fooling anyone with the three knowing looks directed right at him.

"Nothing to be ashamed about, Noct," says Vires with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

"You were going to find one you fancied eventually," agrees Des.

"Did I say something to suggest that I did?" he retorts. He would like to think that he was not as transparent as that but these are his friends. If anyone would see something, they would. Not that he had been all that detached at the time either.

"You don't have to," states Sapien, confirming his thoughts.

"You weren't even there," says Noctis incredulously.

"Didn't I say that Tenebrae chicks are hawt?" asks Des with a grin on his face.

"Shaddup you," warns Vires with a glare. With the light as it was, it looks as if his scar were glowing with his annoyance.

"I didn't have to be," Sapien responds.

"I saw some pretty hawt ones at the party last night."

"She's... special, isn't she?" asks Sapien, phrasing it carefully.

His three friends look at him closely. He's never really talked about the light to them but they all know his frequent glances at the night sky are not out of listlessness. They know him too well to think he stares up because he's bored. His reluctance to talk about this makes them always cautious to bring it up. Sapien is the only one that would be able to mention it if it had to come up and only when he absolutely had to.

"She seems... like me," he confesses as he looks away from them.

"You shouldn't have let her go," says Sapien.

But what alternative had he had at the time?

"_Are you here to offer to show me around Tenebrae again?"_

As soon as he's said the words, he wishes he had thought of something more brilliant to say. He's never confessed to be good with words but he knows he could have done better than that. Even with a wig and glasses he can see that it's her. He doesn't need his crystal vision for that. He feels he'd spy her anywhere, in whatever disguise. She could never hide her aura from him.

There are loud shouts behind them, just down the hall and they both turn to see guards running towards them. Shots are ringing through the air and before he can say anything else, she's taken off at a run towards the other end of the hallway. She's running so fast that it looks like she's teleporting, but she's not. She's only running. He has a moment to marvel at her speed as she forces her way through the stairwell door before he remembers he's supposed to be avoiding capture himself. So he teleports and is through the stairwell door in no time. He spies her running up towards the upper level and he's right behind her. His mind quickly assesses that there are windows between each floor with double metal enforcements. She's about to reach the 3rd level stairs when the door leading into the hall bursts open with armed guards pointing their guns at her.

He has no time for ceremony. So he teleports quickly at her side, grabs her around her waist and jumps towards a nearby window. What he does next is tricky and he's never tried it before but he can't risk getting caught. He channels just enough energy to shatter both the window and the metal bars just as his head is about to collide with the glass and they're both flying out into the alley below.

In the blink of an eye he's already standing on the ground and catches her body easily in his arms. She lands with an "Umph" and her arms reflectively go around his neck for support. Her glasses are crooked upon her nose but her eyes fly to his in surprise and he knows that she noticed how he did it. He doesn't give her time to ask because they need to get as far away from the building as possible. Putting her back on her feet, they both start running down the alley ways.

"Where are you?" he asks in his earpiece.

"Two blocks from the morgue," responds Vires.

"Meet us in front of the Shinjuku building," he orders.

"Us?" he hears Des ask.

He doesn't answer but he does look at Stella and realizes that she hasn't said a thing. Somehow her silence bothers him. She looks scared but she's followed him this far without saying a word. He's not given much time to think before Vires' black van swirls quickly around a corner and stops a foot before him. He doesn't look at Vires or Des as he opens the back door and lets Stella in before jumping inside the backseat himself.

"Sapien?" he asks looking at Vires through the rearview mirror and notices Des gawking at Stella.

"He got out," Vires responds quickly. He's driving at high speeds towards the tunnel and he's confident that no cameras can see through the tinted glass. It's when they're driving within the tunnel that Noctis feels safe enough to really look at Stella. Even though they're sitting together, she's sitting furthest away from him.

"Are you all right?" he asks.

"Is this why you had to go earlier?" she asks and she still looks shaken.

"I can ask you the same thing," he says but he's smirking again and for some reason that makes her smile, not her brilliant smile from earlier but it's something.

"I had to know. There was no other way," she tries to explain but the shock as worn off and her breathing is coming in quick gasps.

"Calm down. You're fine," he says.

"So stupid to trip the alarm like that," she says and she looks mad at herself.

He relaxes a little. Its better to be angry than in a panic. "You almost got us all caught," he says but he isn't upset. He wants to divert her attention.

She looks quickly at him in surprise. "Is that why you helped me escape?"

"I was escaping myself," he says casually. Though it wouldn't have been as messy if it weren't for her, he isn't bothered by that. It's set things back a bit but if anything, she made things more interesting.

"Oh," she says quietly. "Why did you have to sneak in?"

That's a fair question but it's difficult to explain why and he doesn't have time to explain all the reasons. "What were you doing there?" he asks instead.

"Our party was not allowed to see the bodies. I had to make sure," she answers.

"Make sure of what?" he asks.

"That they weren't from our city," she says. "Whatever you may think of my people, we don't go around planning the deaths of princes!" She's scooted in closer to him as she speaks. He doesn't think she notices this but her proximity makes him nervous. The only people that he allowed to get close to him were his friends, but he knows if he backs away from her it would only make her think he sees her as a threat, so he doesn't. "Most of us know that if we were to go to war, it would be to our detriment."

He notices her words and it confirms what he had felt from the Tenebrae party earlier. There were some who wanted nothing more than to steal his power and his city and then there were some who were avoiding bloodshed. "Who do you think was behind it then?" he asks, trying to keep her from noticing how much she's affecting him.

She bites her lip apprehensively and looks out the window. They're out of the tunnel and continuing on the highway. He watches her a second and recognizes the way she's looking up at the sky and realizes that it's what he must look like when he hears the whispers. The thought occurs to him then that he needs to tell Vires where to go but he thinks Vires already knows where he's going. Which is good because right now he wants to know what Stella knows.

"You know who is behind it," he states.

"If you know, we can't let you out of this car," warns Des and Noctis realizes its the first time he has spoken since he and Stella got into the van. Sometimes it marveled him that Des could change emotions so fast. He had been gawking at Stella before but that didn't stop him from threatening her if she were a threat to himself.

"I don't know for sure. There are only theories," she says earnestly. She looks at Noctis with pleading eyes behind those glasses that she's still wearing.

"What are your theories?" he asks.

"There... is a legend," she explains. "Of a group who would watch over the users of the crystals."

"Watch over?" asks Noctis.

"Yes," she says.

"I have never heard anything like that before."

She bites her lip again and looks at the two other men in the car. It's then he realizes why she's been hesitating and he's torn between wanting to grin and wanting to get far away from her again. He knows she will take either one the wrong way. So he merely gives her another smirk but there's a hint of a smile too. It's not mocking this time either. He never had been able to express such things before and he feels this large sense of relief that someone else has been going through the same thing.

"It's all right," he says and he smiles at her encouragingly. He sees the glow come back into her eyes and he feels his heart rejoice again. A part of him wants to take off those glasses so that he can see her eyes fully but he knows I won't. He knows her answer but he wants her to say it out loud.

"The light told me," she confesses softly.

To hear those words out loud does something to him. He's moved profoundly by them. The light told him many things all the time and he always felt like a freak when he had no way to explain how he knew things he couldn't possibly have known. He's never been able to share it like this before and to hear someone else, to hear Stella, say it made him feel their connection solidify. She was different as he was different and he doesn't feel so alone anymore. Now, they could be different together and a part of him that he hadn't felt missing before, was there.

She's looking at him with hopeful eyes. He can tell that she's drawn to him as much as he's drawn to her because of what they share. He doesn't think he's seen anything as beautiful as the understanding and question in her eyes. It makes him feel so wary and so joyful at the same time. He doesn't know why, but there is no taunting. No knowing whispers as they look at each other. No warnings of foreshadowed doom, nor encouragement, just them. Only the sounds of the van moving and their silence. This relieves him and it worries him and he doesn't know what this means. Her eyes furrow and he knows he needs to say something.

"What else, has it told you?" he asks carefully.

She lowers her head with a frown and he thinks he must do that as well. Sometimes, even though he hates the whispers, he waits for them to come. From the frown on her face, he knows she must only hear the silence as well. The whispers aren't talking to her either.

"It has told me to be careful. It has said many things."

He knows that to be true. Sometimes he manages to block out some of the things it says.

"Did you find what you were looking for in the morgue?" he tests her. He can't help it. He wants to know if she saw the markings as he had.

"I was not sure what I was looking for," she says but she gives him a pointed look and he knows.

"Have you seen that before?" He doesn't directly say what he saw because he wants to be completely sure.

"No," she says, shaking her head. "I have never seen a rune like that before." She looks at him as she tilts her head to the side. "What numbers did you see?" She gives him a smirk of her own. Her raised eyebrow is magnified by the fake lenses.

He smiles back at her. "Six and ten," he answers.

They're both smirking at each other a moment before she adds, "It was also blue." She adds that fact as if it were foreign.

He frowns at that.

"Please! Stop here," she cries suddenly to Vires as they near the Viator building that she and her party are guests in.

Vires' eyes dart to his in the rearview mirror and he nods his assent. He turns the corner into a small street just before they reach the building and the car comes to a halt in a patch of dark street.

"No cameras here?" she asks looking at all three of them.

"No cameras," he says and he can tell this has not been the first time she's been forced to break into a complex before. It peaks his curiosity for her and so does his desire to be close to her grows.

The van has stopped and the engine is still on but nobody says anything. Stella doesn't make any move to get out either. He knows that Vires and Des will remain quiet so he has to say something. He's just not sure what.

"Thank you, for rescuing me," she says smiling at him and he's just as paralyzed as he was before.

"I was in the neighborhood," he replies cheekily.

She laughs softly. "You really are a mean one aren't you Pr... Noct."

The fact that she's remembered to call him that causes a warmth to go through him.

She looks at Vires and Des next. "Thank you both. It would be my pleasure to show you all around Tenebrae one of these days."

Vires grunts and Des stutters a bit because he doesn't how he can respond without getting a glare from Noctis. Stella turns to smile at him again. He gives her a small smile back before he opens the door for her. He can't step out onto the street in case someone sees him so she slides closer to him before trying to lift herself out the door. He helps her and as she passes, covering the view of his two friends, she quickly and very briefly touches his cheek. Its so sudden and so brief that he doesn't have time to be startled. He doesn't even have time to grab her hand before she's out the door and closing it quickly behind her.

As they drove away, he can't help but turn back to see her as she made her way towards the main street.

"_Um, why did you let her go?_" he hears Sapien's voice in his ear and he can't believe that he forgot to take it out.

"Your voice went down an octave when you spoke to her," shrugs Sapien in the present by way of explaining why he thinks Noctis likes her. He hadn't realized he was lost in his own thoughts but he shakes his head. The four of them are still standing on top of a high rise and the sun is all but gone from the sky, making everything around them orange.

"It happens to the best of us, Noct," says Des reassuringly. "Pretty girl comes by. We forget to think."

"You include yourself among the best?" asks Vires in disbelief.

"Hey!"

"You need to speak to her again," advises Sapien, cutting off Des before he can start another rant.

"We can always go get her," offers Des.

"The Tenebrae party was flown back this morning," says Noctis.

"You shouldn't let this go," says Sapien. "If we have to, we need to get to Tenebrae. We have to know more about this group of people that are supposed to watch over you."

"Why haven't we noticed them before?" asks Vires.

"Secret societies man!" cries Des. "Wonder what their name is."

"I'll see what I can find within the archives," says Sapien.

"Can't be a secret society if you don't have a cool name," insists Des.

"What about Aenigma and the counsel?" interrupts Vires.

Stella. The counsel. This secret group of watchers. The Tenebrae. The whispers. The crystals. There are too many mixed emotions, too many sides, too many illusions and for a moment he feels overwhelmed. He feels the blackness creeping upon him as it has the sky above their heads and he's back in that nightmare. He's a little boy again and he can feel those tentacles attached to that repulsive thing that wants him so desperately. It's tightened its hold around his body and it starts squeezing the breathe from his lungs.

"Sun's down now and I'm hungry! What's for dinner tonight?" asks Des as he rubs his stomach for emphasis.

"Is that all you really care about?" booms Vires and he's ready to thwack him in the head again.

"Girls too!" protests Des.

To which Sapien rolls his eyes and pushes his glasses closer to his face.

That, just seeing his friends as they are now, is enough to make him start laughing. His laughter is so thankful and so joyful that it has chased away the blackness and he is able to breathe again.


	5. Extraneus

A/N: Please read my Profile for any Author's Notes. Enjoy!

Chapter Five: Extraneus

Quick panicked breathes. Short gasps of air. Cloudy vision from eyes that will not focus. A small body shakes from unimagined terror. For everything is blurry and everything is white. Yet, the white is not too bright but there is only the blur and only the white. It is not cold but the tremors remain as his eyes refuse to adjust. It is not all just white, but looks like a silhouette of someone. Someone who is standing over him and he knows that he is not safe and he is not supposed to be here. Eyes blink and slowly they become focused.

Breathe quickens even more as he sits up and sees red before him. There is red now instead of white and he feels like he's drowning in it. It smells coppery and foul and he can't stand it's stench. It's all over him. It's sticky and it's wet and he wants to clean it away. There are heavy arms that surround him and he turns his head to see their source. It's Mother and he doesn't understand why instead of feeling at ease, he only feels terror. She does not move and she does not open her eyes. He immediately searches out Father and sees that he's not far away and his eyes do not open either. He wants to shake them both.

Yet he knows. He knows they will never wake up. Their eyes will be forever closed. He knows that this stickiness that seems to seep into his skin and filling his nose is theirs. It's their lives that have surrounded him. He raises his two small hands to his face and all he sees is red upon his fingers. There is a piercing sound and it confuses him. He looks up at the white robed figure and sees the sword in its hand for the first time.

Then there is pain. It's a pain so intense that he can't focus his eyes again. His small voice cries out for the agony of loss and the agony of pain and it's then that he feels it for the first time. He feels something awaken inside him and soon there is only blue in his vision and he cries out again.

Noctis screams out loud as he jerks awake. His cry rings through the ceilings of the room and he clutches his chest to try and calm his breathing. The room is filled with blue and the sound of crystals crackle as all his weapons are aimed at the ready.

"Noct!" he hears and it helps him focus.

With labored breaths his eyes snap up to see Sapien standing a few feet away from him. His rune disappears and darkness prevails around the room as he falls back into his throne.  
"What are you doing here?" he asks as he tries to get his breathing to normal. "I could have killed you."

"I should be asking you that," says Sapien as he walks closer. Yes, he could have killed him but his friends were smarter than that, which is why Sapien was standing so far away from him.

"I, I don't want to sleep," he confesses quietly.

"They only get worse when you fight it," says Sapien as he walks up to the throne where he's sitting. "How long has it been since you really slept?"

He doesn't answer. He really doesn't know the answer either. The events of the past week has made his restlessness even worse.

Sapien shakes his head. "Stop being stubborn. You're just asking for trouble by staying here every night."

"What time is it?" asks Noctis.

"Just before dawn," answers Sapien.

"What are you still doing up?" He's only just noticed that his friend is still wearing the same clothes he was wearing the night before.

"Been up all night, reading through the archives," Sapien shrugs. "I need some coffee now."

"Me too," he agrees.

His friend gives him that critical look and he would roll his eyes but he can't bring himself to.

"Did you find anything?"

Sapien yawns behind his hand. "Maybe, but I'm not telling you until you get some sleep."

"You have got to be kidding me," says Noctis in disbelief.

"I'm not," Sapien states simply. "You are no use to anyone if you're dragging on your feet."

He knows that's true but he can't face those nightmares. It's cowardice and weak but he can't face them.

"If you don't, who's gonna keep Vires from killing Des?"

That makes him smirk and he knows his friend is right, as always.

"The suspense will kill me," he tries again.

"It's nothing that you can't wait a few hours to find out," reassures Sapien with a jerk of his thumb in the direction of the door. "Besides, if we run into Stella on the way, I don't think you red eyed and sleep deprived will endear you to her."

Noctis' response is to snort, but he gets up and stands with his friend.

"Stella would be something I would look forward to dreaming about," he confesses.

"Then let her be the last thing you think about," suggests Sapien. "I think that's how it works. Make sure you're not dreaming about us."

Noctis rolls his eyes but there's a smile sneaking into the corners of his lips. "That would truly be a nightmare."

Sapien chuckles and has to hide another yawn coming out of him.

"Maybe you should get some rest too," suggests Noctis as he starts walking towards the door.

"Take my own advice, right?" chuckles Sapien as he walks with him.

"Except you should not try to endear yourself to Stella," he warns lightly.

Sapien chokes on a laugh and grins behind his glasses. "You do like her, don't you?"

"I don't know," he says truthfully. "I … am curious about her."

"Do you think she can do what you can?"

"She thought that the rune on the soldiers being blue was strange. As if she had never seen a blue one before. Yet, mine is blue. So what color is hers? I had never thought that each individual may present different colors."

"Do, you remember what colors your parents' were?" Sapien asks hesitantly. They tried to never talk about his parents as they tried to stay away from talking about the light.

"No," he answers quietly and he really cannot remember. There is so little that he actually does remember about his parents. What little he does get, comes to him in his nightmares and flashes.

"Well, off we go," says Sapien dismissively. "If you get to bed now, you'll have a good few hours of sleep."

Noctis nods as they make their way to the double doors and sighs. Within the throne room, there was nobody that would enter and disturb him. Leaving the room was like leaving a sanctuary. Once they both walked through the doors, who knows who would run into them outside.

"Ready?" asks Sapien.

"Or not," answers Noctis as he turns the handle and opens the door.

Both wave towards the other as farewell as they go their separate ways. His footsteps are silent as they make their way towards his chambers and he blends in perfectly with the night. It is all blackness in this corridor but he knows his way without having to see. As he walks he can sense the sounds of stirring around the castle as servants begin to awaken early to start another day.

There is a certain sense of envy that he feels for them. Envy that they do not have the nightmares and the darkness that he has to live with day and night. That they can sleep and he cannot. That they are free from hearing the whispers and the taunting when he cannot block them out. That they only need serve one master and he must serve them all. Serve them by becoming a worthy enough King to lead them in the future. King enough to chase away the darkness. How was such a thing to be possible for him when his very name means, "in the night"?

He appreciates the darkness and he feels that it is rising. The darkness makes things easier to hide than the harshness of the light. There are so many sinister things that can go on in the night but are openly exposed if done in the day. The light is supposed to be the reality but he cannot help but feel that maybe that is his real dream. Maybe his perpetual night is his reality and the day is his fantasy. He feels as if he's always asleep when he should be awake and always awake when he should be asleep.

As he turns the corner to a corridor lined with windows, he can see the beginning rays of the waking sun. Twilight has faded and the light will show the world what it really looks like. He senses a presence just before he hears the ruffling of fabric to his right. It's just enough warning he needs to not active his rune and unintentionally cut off the person's head.

"Prince Noctis, a moment please," comes the authoritative, commanding voice of his chief counsel. He steps out from a darkened alcove and he wonders just how long the man has been waiting there for him.

"Of course, Lord Aenigma," he says but he does not stop walking.

"You are up early, my Lord," the man comments and there is no point in him trying to deny that he slept at all.

"I lost track of time," he answers sheepishly.

"These times make sleep difficult," he agrees. As they walk together Noctis turns and sees the harsh lines of Aenigma's stern face are magnified in the light.

When he makes no move to answer the older man begins. "I must apologize for not speaking to you about the absolutely atrocious event a few days ago."

"To which event are you referring?"

"The attempt on your life, of course," he feigns surprise but Noctis knows better.

"I thought you were referring to the party."

There's a low chuckle from the man beside him. "Is that more frightening than the men who tried to kill you?"

"Not as much as pretending to be civil to the very ones suspected of planning the attack in the first place," he replies and turns to glare at him.

"Again, I must apologize," says Aengima and it almost sounds as if he's genuinely been chastised.

"It would not have been the first time my opinion was not asked for," he replies. He tries to keep the bitterness from his tone but it comes out just the same.

"It will not always be so," Aenigma reassures.

"No, no it will. Will it," it's a question and a statement.

"Of course not. It is not long until you reach your 20th birthday. The regency of the counsel will end and you will be fit to take the throne."

"My birthday fast approaches," he points out.

"That it is. We have made many plans to celebrate it's arrival."

"My coronation, " says Noctis and he both anticipates and dreads that coming day.

"Before we get to that, I must ask you about anything that you may remember from that night of your attack," interrupts Aenigma and immediately Noctis' senses are on high alert.

"Must I?" he asks with a long suffering sigh.

"It would help our investigation greatly to hear your full account."

"I do not remember much," he says with a long suffering sigh. It makes him sound like the spoiled brat that he tries to pretend to be. "I was sitting in the throne room."

"Why were you there so late?" he tries to sound nonchalant but he can tell that the man is irked that he spends so much time in that room.

"It is where I feel the safest." It sounds ironic but he knew the man would not truly understand what he meant. "I heard something outside and went to see what it was. Everything else is a little muddled. When I came to my senses, I was back in the throne again and there were shouts coming from outside."

"So you are not sure who was responsible for the deaths of those assassins?"

"Do you think it could have been me who did it?" he asks as if the thought had not really occurred to him before. "I have never killed anyone before," and that was the truth. He hadn't before that night.

"If it was you, I think that they had what was coming to them. You had every right to do what you had to do. It just worries me that you cannot remember what happened."

"It would not be the first time I have had such a blackout," he says and he is confident that the man beside him knows to what he is referring.

"Yes," Aenigma agrees. "That is another event I shall never forget."

"I want to see the crystal, Lord Aenigma. I want to know that it is safe," says Noctis. "It is safe, is it not?"

"Of course," claims the older man. "Your powers are safe."

"My powers or my throne?"

"Both," he answers and Noctis does not believe him. "Though I do hope that you have managed to harness at least a little of your powers."

"My process has been slow," he says quietly as if ashamed. "I can only do little things. That cannot be normal, can it?"

"We are all different, your Majesty. We all have our time." He senses the bitterness and envy in the man's voice.

It was also such a true statement. There was a time, a moment, and an era for everyone. It made him wonder where this was all leading. His world was turning on its axis and he hoped that he could hold on. That he could find something solid to keep him upright. He is already thankful for the stability that his friends provide and he feels so much gratitude that he has their unswerving loyalty. They were all about to be tested and he fervently hoped that they would all survive the end of all this. If not himself, that they could make it.

"I would not worry about all that now," reassures Aenigma as they continue on their way to his chambers. "It all comes in time. Are you going to get your rest now?"

"No, I think I might just shower and change. I have plans for today," he says with a shrug. It was a half truth, which made the lie sound like the truth.

"Of course," replied Aenigma. "Enjoy your day, your Majesty."

He waited until the other man was out of sight before opening the doors to his chambers and walking inside. Finally, he was back within his rooms and he makes his way to his bedroom. One day, he vowed, he would cease to use these rooms. From the furnishings to the upholstery to the rugs it feels like nothing is really his. They can cover over what was and change the way it looked but it would forever be the same. He will always dread this room and he doubts he will ever sleep comfortably within its walls.

Walking over to the large, plush bed with an overhanging canopy, he moves the luxurious sheets around so that it looks like he's slept within them. When he's satisfied, he moves to the closet and makes sure to rummage through it properly, giving the appearance of an unkempt prince. He grabs a few things from within and carries them out. Dropping a pair of pants and a shirt on the back of a chair haphazardly to make a show that he's been there. Then he takes everything else to the bathroom and takes a quick shower.

As he scrubs his hair and body clean he tries not to think beyond the mundane task of washing himself. The spray is deliberately the hottest he can stand and he almost feels as if he can forget what it's like to be cold. His movements are quick and deliberate so it doesn't take him long to finish. Once he's dried himself off, he leaves the wet towel on the edge of the sink and runs a comb through his impossible hair. Then with quick swipes of his razor, he gives himself shave. Through all this, he does not bother to swipe the mist from the mirror. He does not really look at the mirror at all beyond necessity. For he hates what he sees in his reflection. The eyes were said to be the mirrors into your soul and he had no desire to see what his looked like.

Within a flash, he's dressed again and he makes his way back into the closet. He looks up to the ceiling and eyes the mahogany tiles that line it and the pull up bar that he had installed himself. Eying the panel that he knows is loose, he jumps upwards and grasps the pull up bar. He swings his body forward and back. Then he catapults himself through the panel and teleports to his feet inside the hidden room. With a soft slick, the panel is closed behind him.

This was his small haven. A tiny space not much bigger than a crawl space between floors, where he slept whenever he could sleep. There was just enough room for a sleeping mat and blankets. No lights up here and he preferred it that way. There were no windows to see through. There were no shadows creeping through thick curtains. There would be no one to sneak up on him while he slept. If anyone did find this crawl space, he would be gone by the time they managed to climb up.

He manages a weary sigh as he lays down on the mat and stares up at the small vaulted ceiling. Gloveless hands go behind his back as he tries to take his friend's advice. He thinks of Stella and all that she represents to him. Companionship. Understanding. Shared abilities. Conflict. Distraction. Attraction. It could not end well...

A sigh escapes his lips as he closes his eyes to sleep but immediately his eyes reopen with a startled gasp!

There is someone in his room below. Someone and it is not the servants who clean his room. The footsteps are too quiet and too cautious for it to be them. He senses each creak in each step the person takes and he strains his ears. Its not just one person now, they've been joined by several others. The first steps lighter and the rest, it might be five, are heavier. Silently, he rises to a sitting position, while putting his leather gloves on and he waits. He is not worried they will find him, but he wishes he were down there. The heavier footsteps reach the inside of his closet and he stays very still.

"He's not here," he hears a muffled masculine voice say directly below him.

"Looks like we just missed him," says another muffled voice.

"That's impossible. We didn't see him leave," says yet another.

"Then where do you think he went?"

"Towel is still wet. He was just here."

"Maybe he's still here," said the first voice and they all started walking around the rooms.

Noctis raises an eyebrow at that. He's never been so thankful that his paranoia prevents him from ever sleeping in pajamas. He smirks briefly as he wonders what the guys would say if they knew he might have fought in his sweatpants. It's more than tempting to burst through the loose panel and confront them but he does not want to expose his hideout. His ears pick up the sound of armor and he frowns. A grim line forms on his lips as he senses that the soldiers are wearing the same armor as the ones from a few nights previous. The ones that had come to kill him. They're also carrying weaponry far more heavier, therefore more powerful, than they used the last time. How did they get inside the castle?

_Kill them!_

No, he cannot kill them when he risks exposing himself and his power further. He's not safe within the confines of the castle. He's not safe anywhere in Nihil if they can reach him here. There was a traitor within his counsel or the entire counsel was involved. He was sure Aenigma was responsible, but there was something just not right about that. He had used his vision to look at the man more than once and he had never seen a marking as he had found on the dead assassins in the morgue.

There is a twist in his gut as he briefly worries about what has happened to his friends and hopes that they were all right. First things first. One of these men will have to have live to tell him what he needs to know. Two, he had to find his friends. Then three, they would be able to figure out what was happening.

"I know he's still here. I can just feel it," he hears the first voice say and it's obviously the leader.

"We're running out of time. We need to get out of here," urges another.

"We have our orders," hisses the first.

_You must get out of there!_

He hesitates because he needs one alive this time and he's not quite sure how he's going to do that. He also can't help but remember Des' theory the day before. What if they were really being, "sneaky like" and testing out his abilities?

That's when he senses it. A trigger goes off in his head and his senses go haywire. He has just enough time to active his rune and jumps. Crashing through the roof with shards of wood and plaster raining about the room, he shields one of the soldiers before the missile impacts right into his chambers. His weapons flair around him and he hears the mind curdling screams of agony from the other four men who he had not shielded from the blast. Standing up, his weapons forming that protective barrier around his body, he waves his arm to grab hold of his sword and glares at the attack helicopter facing him. It shoots off two more high explosive rounds at him.

The light from the dawning sun glares into his eyes as he starts running head long towards the helicopter. He leaps off the edge of what used to be his rooms to meet them and the impact against his shields blow him back a little. Fire meets blue but it does not prevail and he's prevented them from reaching the man he has kept alive. Teleporting directly onto the pilot's windshield, his sword shatters through the glass and pierces the pilot's chest. He summons another of his swords to catch in the propellers and the entire helicopter stalls and sputters in midair as they fly off its body. Jerking his sword free from the slain pilot he looks up and glares at the co pilot, right eye flashing red, before teleporting back to the edge of his chambers. He watches calmly as the machine falls rapidly to the ground below and explodes with a fiery rage.

Turning around he looks at the prone man on his floors. He walks towards him and drags him towards the floor's edge and knocks the helmet off his head to glares at his face.

"Who sent you?" he hisses out.

"No... no" the man tries to fight and he's faced with Noctis' full arsenal of weapons pointed at his head.

"I can make this fast or I can make this slow," he hisses again. He does not have time for this man to hesitate. There will be people here soon and he needs his answers.

"It wouldn't matter," says the man before stepping backwards and falling over the edge to the fires below.


	6. Fugio

A/N: I have left a rather long Author's Note in my profile. Thank you to all my lovely reviewers!

Chapter Six: Fugio

Shouts erupt throughout the castle and he can hear the distant blaring alarms of approaching fire trucks. He stands there, at the edge, looking down to where the body of the soldier has landed. It seems almost unimaginable that someone would do such a thing to themselves. To die such a gruesome death instead of betraying information on what he knew. Sacrificing himself for something he felt was more than himself. Somehow he didn't think he felt that way about anything and it somehow left him feeling bereft. A part of him admired what the man had just done and a part of him wanted to shake his head.

As he thinks it, he becomes more than just displeased. The man did not have to die. He did not have to sacrifice himself for such a foolish cause. His life and devotion had been used in vain. He feels such a torrent of things then, but most of all, he feels betrayed and he's beginning to get angry.

There is a rush of feet coming closer and he turns his head to glance over his shoulder at who he knows is at the lead.

"Prince Noctis! Thank the…"

"Don't!" he says angrily as he turns around fully to face the man, his sword still in hand. "Do not for one second think that I don't know what you have done."

Lord Aenigma has the grace to look afraid for a moment before he's recovered himself. "I don't…"

"Like Hades, you don't!" and he's angry enough that his insignia flashes brightly around him without his summoning it. The sun has risen just behind him now and he can see the shadows of his rune against the paleness of Aenigma's face. He knows what he must look like. Like some dark angel with fiery vengeance in his eyes and blades for his wings.

He takes in the look of awe and fear on the older man's face, before looking at who else is in the room with them.

"Is this what you wanted to see?" he asks walking closer to the him and the small group of servants behind him. His armory swirls around him like a tornado and the crackle of crystals fills the room. It fills the room with blue. They all cower in the face of him and he hates to see their fear as much as he needs to revel in it right now. "Now you can see. Was it worth it?" he hisses angrily. "Was it worth the price of five men. Five men who were supposed to be loyal to me?"

He sees just enough expression on the other man's face and he knows. He's been right all along. Aenigma never planned on letting him succeed the throne.

There is no time for a response because he senses something else coming towards them. He senses something big and it's not just one, but two.

"We are under attack!" shouts Aenigma behind him.

"Run for cover!" he orders with a wave of his arm. A small amount of force pushes Aenigma and the other servants right back out the door as he turns to face what is next. How many times were they going to try and kill him in one day? Now he's definitely more than just displeased, he's just about angry.

Two Lightning, Joint Strike Fighters lower from the sky to face him. The sounds of their roaring engines are almost deafening but he's too irritated to care. Bright red eye flashing he looks to see what weaponry they have. Both had their 25mm cannons aimed right at him. Those things shot up to 180 powerful rounds. That kind of firepower was too much for his shields and he doesn't fancy bent weapons. He only had a few options and he didn't have time to think about all of them.

A flair of blue light amidst the orange of the dawning sun. A flash of crystal. A glowing red eye. He charges forward as they open fire. He teleports left to the right, swerving out of the way and trying to count how many rounds are being fired. He's quickly out of room. Jumping up, he teleports against the ceiling upside down and pushes off, using the momentum to fly straight towards the cockpit of the Fighter closes to him. Twisting his body in midair, he teleports the rest of the way and lands on his hands and feet, facing the pilot inside.

He's already assessed that a strike from his sword won't penetrate the cockpit's thick glass. A small rapier appears in his hand and he thrusts down with all his might. He pierces the metal body of the jet and holds on to the hilt for leverage with his left hand. Laying his right hand flat against the glass, he glares at the pilot. The man inside reacts by pulling hard right to try and knock him off and pulls upwards. Blue light flashes brighter as his crystal energy causes the windshield to slowly crack. The effect spreading like spiderwebs across the glass. He jumps up and rushes down, sword flashing a fiery blue, ramming his sword against the glass to shatter it. The glass explodes all around them. Teleporting quickly inside before the man can try anything else, Noctis smashes his helmet against the side interior. It's just enough to knock him unconscious and his eyes go to the cord above the pilot's head. There's a split second where he questions what he's about to do. Then he's gripping the unconscious pilot's safety harnesses and pulls the ejection cord.

The windshield explodes off it's hinges and the seat is propelled out of the cockpit and high into the sky. Parachutes deploy and he knows he didn't prefer to wear leather gloves just because they looked cool. The initial jerk of the parachutes causes him to tighten his grip around the pilot seat and he ends up teleporting to the back to get a better grip. The winds are causing his collar to flap painfully against his neck and chin and his eyes are starting to water. He hears the collision of the Lightning crash into a high rise a half a block away from them and he's relieved that it's too early for anyone to be working inside.

The sounds of the other jet alerts him to the fact that it's following his descent. They're almost between the high rises as it lowers just enough to be eye level with him. He's about to do the same thing to this jet, only this time he does not have to be careful. He doesn't need this one alive to tell him what he needs to know.

"Noct! Cover!" he hears boomed below him and his head snaps around to look at the source. He sees Vires standing on the street below him, his white van not far away. He's carrying something heavy on his shoulder.

Before he can even say what he wants to say, his protective shield is up as Vires fires his rocket launcher. Right beside him, Des has replaced his trusty rile with his own and fires right after him. Vires's shot hits the side of the cockpit and Des catches the tail.

"Can't let you have all the fun!" shouts Des with a punch in the air.

The impact blows him in the opposite direction of the explosion and he sees the debris deflected from his shield. There's a tearing sound and he's dropping faster than before. He looks up at the chute and sees a gaping hole along the center. There's a moment where he's entirely at a loss until he hears the screeching of tires and Vires' van is speeding right under him. When it's at just the right velocity, he summons one of his swords to slice through the parachute ropes and they drop the rest of the way down.

He takes the brunt of the initial impact on the roof of the van with a body jarring thud and drops them into a roll as it begins to stop, but the momentum is too strong. They're rolling too fast and he doesn't have time to grab onto anything. Using his powers, he stops the unconscious pilot from falling off the edge while his own body rolls off the top of the truck towards the ground. Despite landing heavily on his feet, the momentum propels him forward and he ends up rolling to a stop a few feet away.

Breathing heavily, he shakes his head to stop the spinning. His body is throbbing from the shock of his landing and for a second he can't move. Breathing in and out quickly he gathers his strength and starts to move again. Shifting slowly, he's on his elbows and knees as the truck finally comes to a complete halt. He can hear the clinking of broken glass and blaring alarms. There is the sound of someone opening the driver's side door. Faintly, he can hear the sound of his name and rushing footsteps.

_Get. Up!_

"Get up," he tells himself with gritted teeth. His body is starting to go into shock but he knows he has to move. He braces his hands against the ground and pushes himself clumsily to his feet.

"Noct!" yells Sapien, as he reaches out to Noctis before he can fall again.

"Noct!" he hears both Vires and Des shout from a distance away.

He tries to push Sapien away. "I'm all right. I'm fine," he says. He clutches his head, even as he tries to shake away the dizziness. The vertigo makes him stagger to the left and then to the right unevenly on his feet. He manages to motion to the roof of the white van. "Get him. Keep him... alive." He feels as if his brain was rolling inside his skull and his eyes roll to the back of his head as he staggers and falls.

"Noct!" is the last thing he hears before he blacks out entirely.

His body does not feel his own but he knows that it is supposed to be. It's not as tall and it's not as heavy and it's not as strong. He knows he's not in Nihilsomno and he does not really remember seeing these surroundings before. He does not remember the world seeming so big.

"_Nooooctis! Nooooctis!_" he hears the sound of his mother's call.

"Mother?" he whispers in a quiet voice of disbelief. Even the sound of his voice seems foreign, like his body. It sounds childish and youthful. He's hiding in a meadow and there is a slight chill. It's misty here and the air is so moist with it. He can hear a nearby stream and the sounds of birds singing within the tall branches of the trees. The sun's rays are peaking through the leaves, making everything look almost magical.

"Where are you, little one?" she calls out. He cannot see her yet but her footsteps are close. "Ah!" she cries above him. "There you are."

He looks up at her from his crouched position and even though he knows he's supposed to be sulking, he can't help but think she's the most beautiful thing his innocent eyes have ever seen. She's full of loving eyes and wonderful smelling hair and comforting arms for him to run to.

"What are you hiding from?" she asks gently.

"I'm not little anymore," his little voice pouts.

"You are growing up too fast for your, mother," she agrees.

"Then why can I not see it?" he asks, looking up at her with pleading eyes.

Her bright eyes grow shadowed for a moment and that scares him. "I wish that you would not ever see it," she says.

"Why not?" he asks in his small voice.

She looks at him thoughtfully for a moment as she thinks of how to answer him. "Bad things must happen before you can see it."

"What kinds of bad things?"

"Won't you come to me?" she asks extending her arms to him.

He can see his small arms reaching up to her in response and she lifts him out of his hiding spot. Clutching her close to him, he waits for her to answer his question. "Things that are scary and things that should be kept forever hidden."

"But I am brave, Mother," he tries to reassure her.

She lets out a quiet laugh. "I know you are, my sweet. I know."

"Mother," he says as she's carrying him away. She hums to let him know she's listening. "What if I never see the light?"

"Then you will have a happy life."

He cannot understand how that could be so.

"One day, Noctis, you will see your powers," she says. "When that days comes and your father and I are not there, you must hide what you can do."

"Why?" he asks as if that's the silliest thing he's ever heard. The point of having powers at all was to show them off.

"They are dangerous," she warns. "People fear what they cannot understand and they would never understand what you will do."

"So it has to be a secret?"

"Yes, a very important secret," she agrees. "You are different and that will make things difficult."

His mind thinks over what she has said and he does not like it. What good were powers if he could never show them to anyone? Small blue eyes blink several times as a small war rages in his head. He trust his mother but she's not making any sense.

It's all forgotten as he looks up and he can see his father waiting for them in the distance. The sun is sparkling through the skies and he thinks it's a very beautiful day. Yet, when he looks up at his mother's lovely face he cannot understand why she looks so sad. So he does all he can to try and make her laugh again as they walk back home.

The scene changes to black and he hears another, familiar voice speak.

"_Lord Noctis, you can see the light? Right?"_

Those words liberated him even as he felt trapped by his unwillingness to speak the truthful answer. He had gotten so used to not talking about such things that he had no idea how to form the words. It was like a foreign language that he understood but never spoke out loud. Everything out of his mouth sounded wrong, as if he was out of practice. The words sounded as if they were not good enough. All these years with no one to really speak of these to and there she is. She's standing in front of him, dressed all in white and taking away his breathe with every word that she speaks.

"_You shouldn't talk to other people about the light."_

These words are a warning. A warning that he had heard so long ago from a woman that he had loved with all his heart. The single most important woman in his young life. He had repeated her words to another woman. One who filled a piece of him that he had never noticed he had been missing. Maybe he had always missed it but had gotten used to ignoring it. Now that he had found her he did not know what to do with her. He could not love her and he could not ever ignore how much she had filled him. A brief encounter that left a permanent mark in his soul.

"_But if it's just a bedtime story, what do you think the light really is?"_

Death. Death is what the light was and Death is what the light brought.

They both could see the light. So they both could see Death and Death does not take risks. Death chooses carefully who can see it. Death dealt in secret and in darkness and the only reward for the both of them, was death.

Blue eyes turned crimson, open as he wakes. His eyes focus sharply and he blinks. There is a mild throbbing in his head and a soreness in his body but the pain will only be temporary. His wounds are superficial and the power of the crystals ensure that he will not stay injured for long. He frowns as he tries to recall how he fell asleep. The couch he's lying on is lumpy and that can only mean he's in their hideaway just beneath the castle. He cannot tell what the time is but he feels like he has slept awhile. His body feels as if he hasn't used it in a long time. He can hear the familiar clicking noises of Sapien on his handheld and it makes him feel more at ease.

"We should have had that coffee instead," he says hoarsely and he fights back a groan of pain. The clicking stops immediately and there's a sound of rushing before he sees Sapien's head hovering over him.

"Noct, I'm so sorry," he rushes to say.

"For what?" he asks frowning up at him.

"That shouldn't have happened. If we had gone to get coffee, you wouldn't have been alone and definitely not in your room."

"How were you supposed to know?" he asks and he's seized with coughing.

"He's up!" shouts Des and he tries not to cringe at the volume.

Pushing himself up slowly to sit, he blinks to take in his surroundings.

"You okay there, Noct?" asks Des and he looks a little worried.

He looks at the grim expression on Vires' face and nods his head.

"Yeah, I think so," he says and his voice is still hoarse. "What happened?"

"You fought a Lightning Jet!" exclaims Des but stops himself. "No, two Lightning Jets!" He flashes two fingers to Noctis and he looks completely impressed.

"What could have possibly compelled you to do that? There were two!" asks Sapien, as he hands him a glass of water.

"You got a death wish, Noct," says Vires shaking his head. The three of them watch as he slowly drinks the water.

"I had to stop them from destroying the castle," he says swallowing roughly. "I did not have much choice and..." he hesitates because it embarrasses him to admit, "I was too upset to care."

"What happened just before they got there?" asks Des.

"You took down a helicopter first, didn't you?" asks Sapien.

"Oh yeah!" cries Des. "Talk about overkill. I would have been more than a little upset. I would have been pissed!"

"What happened after you took the helicopter down?" asks Vires.

"Wait, let's go back to the beginning," advises Sapien.

Noctis looks away from them and frowns as he tries to recall how everything had begun. "Five soldiers, wearing the same armor as the ones a few nights ago..."

"The ones that tried to kill," finishes Sapien.

"Yes. They were in my room."

"How the...?" cries Des.

"Shut it!" warns Vires.

"I was in the crawl space above my closet," he explains. "I was just trying to figure out how to get rid of them and that's when the helicopter blew up my chambers. I, I tried to save one of the soldiers... to question him but he jumped off the edge instead."

"Crazy fanatics," comments Vires.

"That is what got me so upset," he explains. "The men in the armor did not have the same markings as the ones that tried to kill me before. These were men of Nihil. The ones in the helicopter and Lightnings did have the marks."

"What?" snaps Sapien and he looks angry. "Men of Nihil?"

"What?!" shouts Des.

"What were men of Nihil doing in that armor and in your room?" asks Vires.

"That's where Des was right," says Noctis with a small smile.

"I was?"

"Aenigma was trying to trick me into using my powers. He sent those men."

"That sneaky son of a..."

"That is why you were upset," comments Sapien with a nod of his head.

"That is when the Lightnings showed up and I, I just reacted," he says sheepishly. He scratches the back of his head to distract himself. "By the way, how did you guys get there so quickly?"

Vires and Des look at Sapien, who clears his throat. "I might have understated what I found in the archives this morning."

"By how much?" asks Noctis.

"Enough to wake me up with the sun," complains Des, crossing his arms.

"And you just so happened to have rocket launchers?" asks Noctis with a raised eyebrow.

"You know how I like to be prepared," says Vires looking away.

A suspicious look crosses over his face and he's about to ask what is going on when Des speaks first.

"That pilot you tried to save is dead," he says quickly. It's meant to distract Noctis from being cross with them but it only makes things worse.

"What do you mean, dead?" he demands. "What happened?"

"He died when you landed on the roof of the van," says Sapien quietly.

"What are you talking about?"

"When you guys landed, he severed several of the vertebrae in his spine."

Noctis makes a strangled sound as he falls back onto the couch. He throws an arm over his eyes and groans.

"Hey man, you tried your best," says Des, to be comforting he supposes.

"It wasn't your fault," reassures Sapien.

"I needed him to tell me who is behind my assassination attempts," he says and he feels such failure and such guilt for letting the man die. It was all for nothing.

"Ahem," says Sapien causing Noctis to peak under his arm to look at him.

"What?" he asks raising his arm to look at him fully.

"Don't you feel like a roadtrip, Noct?" suggests Des.

"A... roadtrip?" he asks sitting up again.

"Yeah!"

"Equipped with rocket launchers?" he asks as he looks up at Vires. A smirk crosses his lips and he opens his mouth to speak but stops when they all hear the outside alarms go off.

The four of them stare at each other in disbelief. Then they turn slowly to the video monitors.

"How did they find our hatch?" blurts out Des as they see at least ten Nihil soldiers making their way through the hatch.

"Go!" commands Noctis as they all fly away to different exits within the little room. Things are still a little wobbly for him at first but this is not the time to slow down. It takes more focus not to get angry so he thinks about something else. What he does allow himself to think about almost makes him smile as he remembers how they had come across these little rooms just east of the dungeons.

Four little boys with all the time in the world find the most peculiar things. If there was a hole or a hatch or a door, they had to go through it together. They were in need of a secret hideout and when Sapien had completed his first successful hack into the mainframe, he found these little small, forgotten rooms just below the castle grounds. Over time they had accumulated some furniture, some weaponry or whatever knick knacks they had wanted to bring down. He almost laughs out loud thinking about the time they pushed the couch through the small hatch.

A secret hideout needed an equally secret getaway plan and they had memorized their different plans of escape years ago. Sapien, had a narrow staircase to run up. Des and Vires each took a portal which lead to makeshift ladders to climb up. Noctis had an air shaft that went vertically through the dungeons and up to their designated rendezvous point. His was impossible for a regular person to climb but it just took a few jumps while teleporting here and there before he was at the top. In the end, he was always the first to get there.

As he reaches the hatch that will take him into the air shaft he hears the sound of short popping bursts and knows that Sapien has activated the sparks that will burn everything within the small room. He takes a very short moment to mourn the loss of all the things he's kept in there but he knows they need to get rid of any evidence of their presence. Without any further hesitation, he's through the hatch and up the shaft to the top.

He's just replacing the heavy lid of the manhole as his friends each make their way into the royal garage.

"Our road trip is happening sooner than later," comments Sapien.

"We can't stay here," agrees Vires. "Can't take my car. The roof's too busted up."

"We shall take one of the caravan cars," says Noctis as he points towards one of the three cars that drive him around the city.

"Why?" asks Des.

"They've got more armor than any other vehicle we can find and they're untraceable," comments Sapien. He looks at Noctis. "You're going to have to incapacitate the other cars."

He nods grimly as he summons his swords and slashes all the tires of the other cars within the garage.

"Do you think they have armored cars outside?" asks Vires.

Sapien taps into his handheld and shakes his head.

"Come on," orders Noctis as he runs to the one car he hasn't damaged.

"I drive!" shouts Des.

"No!" says Sapien.

"Why not?" Des protests.

"Because you can't talk and drive at the same time!" shouts Vires as he pushes his blonde friend towards the front passenger side. "But you can sit in the front." He jumps in beside Noctis in the back while Sapien reeves up the engine.

They all hear the pinging sounds of ricocheting bullets and Sapien slams down on the accelerator. Noctis stares back at the men that have been pursuing them and frowns. His monarchy did not look too bright if he was already plagued with such open rebellion. It doesn't take them long before they're speeding through the streets and back into the tunnel.

"What the heck are they trying to kills us for!?" shouts Des angrily. "Noct is supposed to be King!"

"It's a mutiny," comments Sapien looking at the rearview mirror. "They're trying to gain power before Noct can fully gain his. Which means we have to leave, now."

"You're heading to VallisAcerba?" asks Noctis leaning forward to hear Sapien better as Vires keeps an eye behind them to make sure they're not being followed.

"We have to. It's not safe for you within the city," he answers. He swerves to the left as they leave the tunnel. "Is this the marking that you saw on those men?" asks Sapien as he holds up his handheld to show him the image.

"Yes," he says. "What is it?"

"We've been trying to figure out all day!" complains Des.

"It means crow," answers Sapien.

"Crow?"

"Yes," answers Sapien simply. "It's a little hard to make out because of all the extra cursive lines blended in around it, but it's the Kanji for crow."

"I have no idea how he figured that one out," shrugs Des. "Looks like a bunch of lines to me."

Sapien bristles a little and pushes his glasses up. "Well I am a genius afterall."

"What about the numbers?"

"I am still narrowing down the variables on that."

"What does this have to do with going to VallisAcerba?" asks Noctis.

"That isn't our final destination," comments Des.

"Where are we going then?"

"Stella did offer to show us around," suggests Des as he looks back to waggle his eyebrows at Noctis.

"You… are not serious."

"We really don't have any other options than to take this symbol where it leads us," says Sapien.

"And you think the answers are in Tenebrae?" he asks skeptically.

"You need to talk to Stella about what she knows," says Vires.

That makes Noctis look out the window and frown. Were they really serious about all this? He eyes look at Sapien in the rearview mirror. "Just how did you find that symbol in the archives?"

"Stella said there was a legend of those who would watch the users of the crystals," explains Sapien with a shrug. "I was just a matter of typing in the right keywords."

"Atta boy, Sap!" cries Des as he whacks him in the shoulder.

"I hate it when you call me that," replies Sapien as he pushes his glasses back into place. "I figured that the armor was symbolic too and searched all the things I could find on what I saw when we were in the morgue. Then I ran across the symbol."

"Did it say anything about the watchers at all?"

"It's pretty vague. It all ties in with the legend of the goddess Etro."

Death, again. It always led back to that. It surrounded him with a thick cloak and almost drove him insane each and every day. It shrouded everything he did and tempted him with false light and never ending night. With a night that was a poor imitation of the brilliance of the day.

"It's freaky out here," says Des, taking his mind away from his depressing musings. "Why don't they have any lights?"

"Are you really asking this?" asks Sapien and Vires is rubbing his face.

"What?"

"I think you need to get some sleep," suggests Vires.

"Why? I'm totally wired on adrenaline right now."

"You haven't had any sleep," Sapien points out.

"Neither have you," Des accuses.

"I'm not the one asking stupid questions."

"Why is that a stupid question?"

"It's a few hours 'til light and we should reach the bridge to Tenebrae by then. Take advantage of the down time," suggests Sapien.

"Fine, but I still want to know why my question was so stupid to you guys," he says.

"Do you know what VallisAcerba is?" asks Noctis carefully.

"Where we're headed."

"This is VallisAcerba right out here," Noctis answers pointing to the utter blackness around them.

"It's a valley," says Sapien. "Its a dark, barren valley with no people, hence no lights."

There's a brief moment of silence as Des takes this information in. "It's just unnatural is what I'm saying. No lights. It's like there's no life. I think I will get some shut eye then."

Noctis tries to chuckle as quietly as he can as he crosses his arms and looks out into the darkness before them. None of them had ever left the city limits of Nihilsomno so it wasn't entirely a stupid question. It was hard to fathom such a place if you had never seen one for yourself. To them the sign to VallisAcerba was just something that they never gave a thought to and never thought to take that turnpike to check it out either. Not when they lived in such a large metropolitan city as they did. To Noctis, the lack of lights only reminded him of what he was. He was so used to the black. Des is right. Without life, there was no such things as light.

"You get some sleep too, Noct. You've had more of a day than we have," says Vires folding his thick arms across his chest.

"I slept for most of it and someone needs to keep Sapien awake," he replies.

"That wasn't restful sleep," says Sapien. "And I did get some sleep while you were out."

He knows that must be a lie but he doesn't want to bicker about something so frivolous.

"I can keep Sapien company," offers Vires.

Noctis nods his head once and closes his eyes as he lays back against the headrest. The sound of tires rolling over paved roads is almost soothing as he sighs out a breathe. He can see her there. There within his memory. It's all darkness around her but she's just so bright. The brightness is not artificial or feigned. It radiates off of her and he can't do much else but stare at the luminescence. Then she turns to him and smiles. A smile so powerful it was devastating to his senses. Golden hair and sapphire eyes that see within him. Sees what he is inside and he's afraid and it makes him feel alive.

_Are you coming?_

"Woah! No way!"

Noctis' eyes snap open and he cannot believe that the sun is rising. The barren wilderness is all around them, but that's not what caused Des' outburst. He looks forward as Sapien pulls the car into a halt and stops in the middle of the road.

"Woahho!" cries Des as he opens his door to get out of the car. "Would you look at that?"

Noctis follows him outside and almost can't believe what he sees. He shuts his door almost sternly and stands there in near disbelief. Just at the border of their shores, the bridge has been blown to prevent any further progress. Pieces of it floats just below the surface of the waters. It's just a little big too big a gap for them, even if they accelerated at top speed.

"Someone obviously doesn't want us to get to Tenebrae," comments Sapien as he opens his door to join them outside. He and Noctis share a knowing look and glare out at the water together.

"Hey Vires! Wake up man! You gotta see this," cries Des as he opens the back door.

"What.. what is.. what the hell?!" shouts Vires as he rushes out and joins them to stare out at the collapsed bridge just under the water.

"Looks like they just did it too," observes Sapien.

"Which means..." and Vires doesn't get to finish because they can already hear the sounds of something that has the four of them looking at each other.

"Yeah, definitely overkill," says Des.

"If Aenigma thinks that he can stop me," growls Noctis angrily. "He has another thing coming."

"Hey Noct, we do this together. Noct, where do you... what are you doing man!?"


	7. Adamo

A/N: As always, any Author's Notes that I may have or general updates on how the chapters are going, please visit my profile. Enjoy!

Chapter Seven: Adamo

Underestimated. He supposed he was partly responsible for such an assumption. It had always been intentional on his part to play the foolish prince. Especially when it came to the members of the counsel and most especially in front of the keen eyes of Aenigma. For all they knew, he and his little band of misfits only caused mischief wherever they ventured around the city. They certainly had plenty to be reported to them through all the mishaps and destruction of public property they had received over the years. What they had perceived as an irresponsible prince had really been miscalculations of his powers. He supposes he might have given too good of a performance all this time. Or he had scared Aenigma so much that this was what he should have expected. That was all rational thinking and he was not looking to be rational right at the moment.

He can hear Des shouting as he's taking determined steps towards the army charging towards them. The army that was supposed to be his. This was not the day for him to die and if Aenigma thought to stop him from finding out some answers and seeing Stella again, he was sorely mistaken. He stands at the ready, his arms loosely at his sides.

"Get in the car," he orders to his brothers behind him as he keeps his eyes on the arm of Nihil in front of him.

"What? Why?" asks Des.

"Get in the car," reiterates Sapien.

He hears the sound of three shutting doors and he reaches into one of the pouches on his belt and puts his earpiece on.

"You're gonna do what I think you're gonna do, aren't you?" he hears Sapien say in his ear.

"Do you remember what happened the last time?" warns Vires.

"Yeah, that wasn't very good the last time," agrees Des.

He can remember what happened well, but they don't have any other option. He's managed to perfect his powers a little bit more than the last time they had tried this stunt.

"The car has airbags and you three can swim if you do not make it across," he answers.

"We're worried about you, man," says Des.

"Just remember to floor it," he says as his rune flairs blue behind him. The car zooms past him in the direction of the army and swerves into a U turn. Sapien is reeving up the engine as Noctis finally turns around and starts running towards the end of the blown bridge. He can hear the sound of gun fire but he knows they are just out of range.

Tires screech as Sapien finally releases the brakes and the car bursts forward. He has enough time to teleport where he needs to and Sapien's already accelerated the car. There's the sound of burning rubber as he turns to see the car speeding towards him. Two fingers of his right hand go up in front of his face and tilt at an angle as he kneels onto the pavement as the car reaches him. The full arsenal of his powers form a makeshift ramp just before the car can run him over and it flies over his head. The bottom portions of the tires just miss the top of his hair as the car is propelled upwards and flies over the water towards the other side.

Teleporting quickly to the other side of the bridge, he can hear Des screaming in his ear.

"We're gonna be part of the pavement!" he shouts as they're about to land but Noctis is already there and he positions his shield to mimic a descending ramp. The bottom of the fender scratches loudly as it hits the pavement and the rears bounces on impact. The car comes screeching to a stop a few feet away.

"Noct!" shout the three of them as they jump out of the car. The strong smell of burnt rubber fills his nose as they come running towards him.

"I am fine," he says brushing himself off of the bits of dust on his jacket. The four of them turn around to face the army on the other side.

"I didn't expect you to do that," says Des.

"What did you think I was going to do?"

"Kick some hide maybe?"

"Those are Nihil soldiers. They are my men. I will not use my powers to kill my own people."

"Stupid, blind traitors," hisses Vires with a shake of his head. "They don't deserve your mercy."

Mercy. He did not think that was an accurate word for what he was extending to those men. Maybe it could be viewed as such but, it was what was right. There were too many wrongs with his legacy that this was just a small portion of what he needed to do. He had no time to think about that now. There were answers that he needed and places that he needed to go.

"Come on," he says turning around. "We have answers to find."

"And Stella to see," grins Des behind him.

"Don't tease him," warns Vires.

"I'm not!" protests Des. "I think she's a good..."

"Lead?" asks Noctis turning to look at him.

"Right... lead," agrees Des with a wink. "I also want to see some more hawt Tenebrae chicks."

"Just get in the car," says Sapien to Des as he slides into the driver's seat.

"So I'm not gonna drive at all?" complains Des.

"Yup," replies Sapien simply, as he shifts the gears and takes off again. "We need to find a petrol station."

"No way! Tell me we have enough to make it! I ain't pushing!"

In the end there was no need for Des to push. They found a station before the tank was empty, just outside the outskirts of Tenebrae. The old man behind the counter frowned at the sight of the four men but merely adjusted his thick glasses and gave them their change.

"You really did plan this trip," comments Noctis as he eyes the money in Sapien's hand.

"We told you," says Des.

"How did you get the local currency?"

"We know a few people," answers Vires evasively.

"So, how are we going to find out where Stella lives?"

"We'll find her," says Vires confidently. "Or Noct will, for sure."

"Things are so different here," remarks Des as he looks around.

"They would be," remarks Sapien. "It's a different country and it's also not as technologically advanced as ours."

"They also do not have crystal energy," says Noctis. Though, he had some questions about that too.

"Hey look! There's a place to eat," points Des.

This city had a beauty that was all its own. He had to search through his brain to remember his history lessons as he looked and marveled at the things around them. He had never learned much about the outside countries and he wishes that he had. Not a fan of ignorance, he preferred to know instead of ignoring it. There was no reward for ignorance and he felt he was ignorant enough to what he was and what he could do.

The architecture around them was old. Old but no less inferior to their own. In fact, maybe it was more advanced in certain respects. Where his city was built of steel and concrete. This city was made of stone and wood. It was with more natural materials than the more man made of his. Even the windows had a unique character and shape to them. It was different but no less beautiful in its own right. It was something all its own.

They were all sitting in a square of sorts. The main square of the city, judging by the amount of foot traffic around them. Vast walls of yellow cast a golden light with the rays of the late afternoon sun. So different from the shiny, darkness that surrounded him in Nihilsomno. Pigeons walked around them lazily and even they looked different. The people around them were also very different. It was hard to describe. It was in the way they walked. It was in the way they conversed. They did not dress too differently but they did not seem as burdened. They did not seem as afraid. Their world was not as dark as his.

The cafe that Des had pointed out sat within the square gave him a home like feel and he immediately felt more comfortable is this foreign city.

"The food even tastes differently here," comments Vires.

"Still good though," says Des as he puts another spoonful in his mouth.

"Are you finished yet? We have things to do," says Vires impatiently. "I don't know how you stay so skinny when you never stop eating."

"I haven't eaten since yesterday!" complains Des. "Besides, who knows when we'll be back here. Might as well enjoy the culture, right Noct?"

"We are not here to play tourists," reminds Noctis but he's smirking a little at his friend.

"That's your last bite," says Sapien. "We don't have time to lose." He turns to Noctis and nods.

All four of them get up as Sapien pays the bill and they start walking further into the square. That, is when he feels it. An indescribable spark in his awareness. It's a pierce within his consciousness. A calling within his soul.

_You are connected_.

It all started to hit him unawares as Des decides in that moment to put him in a headlock and he falls forward, off guard.

"Being outside of familiar territory is nice isn't it?" asks Des.

He's never been in a headlock before and he almost doesn't know how to react when he's saved from having to hurt Des when he's abruptly released. He straightens as he watches Vires nearly choke Des in a headlock of his own.

"Don't care where are you, idiot. Don't ever forget who you are and who he is," warns Vires as Des tries patting his arm to get him to let go.

Sapien doesn't even other to look at the both of them as he's looking around their surroundings.

"I am going to have to see you guys later," says Noctis.

_Are you coming?_ He hears her voice in his head again. Whispering in his ear when she's no where in sight.

_I am coming_, he thinks back.

"Noct," Sapien calls, breaking the temporary spell he's under.

He looks at him blankly for a second, blinking a couple times to comprehend what he's saying to him.

"Go," says Sapien and points his chin away from them, motioning him to go.

"Don't forget to take your ear piece off when you want privacy," reminds Des.

He smirks at them and then he starts walking where he can feel her the strongest.

_You are connected_, the voices repeat again.

He wonders how much of that were true and to what extent exactly. Fear keeps him from taking any guesses. Something strong within him, makes him rush forward and he becomes enveloped in the walking crowd around him. People rushed by, going about their lives and hardly giving him a passing glance. He could feel her presence even stronger as he walks and he knew he was getting warmer. Moving quickly amongst the crowd, he finds himself along a main street at the corner of a busy intersection.

It's there. Right there, across the street is where he sees her. Wearing all white with her long blonde hair swaying as she walks, he sees her and feels his breathe taken away again. She is as golden as the city she resides in. It seems irrational but he's glad that she's not wearing that wig again because he would rather see her as her natural self. Light seems to shine all around her like a beacon calling to him. She was all light while he was all darkness and he found he was craving her more and more.

She's unaware of him, as far as he can tell and he tries to remain just out of her sight. He watches as she pauses in mid step and turns in his direction, but he's already ducked behind the rushing crowds. He sees the frown upon her face as she recognizes no one but knows someone is watching her. She turns and starts walking again and he wonders if she can feel his presence as he does hers. It's something to ponder as she continues walking and he realizes that they're headed towards what looks like the Tenebraen castle.

The guards at the gate salute her as she passes them and he makes sure to keep walking as casually as possible on the other side. Calmly, he looks up to see the security cameras and the electric wiring along the walls. If what he had suspected all along was true, Stella was the princess of Tenebrae and not just some goodwill ambassador involved with peace treaties. She was royalty and there was not much you could do to hide that fact. Especially to someone who was also royalty. It made him admire her more. She was a rebel as he was. Secretly breaking into where she needed to go and to find answers she wanted. It reminded him of himself. How the stars must have aligned to get them to meet as they had that night.

For they must have been destined to meet. That much was certain.

It was not until nightfall had come and the stars were all their muted selves in a city of electric light, when he quickly propels himself over the wall and quickly ran through the courtyard towards the main residence. He is careful not to teleport because it would get him caught as he quickly and quietly went on his way. Somehow, he knew that she was not on the ground floor and his eyes went up to see above him. His eyes scanned from window to window to try and catch her silhouette. It was not until he had gone around to the other side of the main residence and was under a small balcony that he finally catches sight of her. Her presence overwhelms him for a moment and then, then he hears her voice.

"I will go out as I please," he hears her say to someone and the lack of response tells him that she's talking through a telephone. "Just give me a moment if you would? No, nobody noticed me.... that, that was an accident," she hisses. "I was not caught either. Does it really matter how I got away? I was safe. This has nothing to do with that. I wanted answers Father, not fake reports." She sighs at the response she gets. "Will you be joining us for dinner? Another late night?... We were not responsible and I am sure Prince Noctis knows.... why? I do not understand why you are so upset that I spoke... I cannot promise that I will not speak or see him again." A long pause follows as her father seems to speak at length. "Very well. We shall discuss this again, later. Good night, Father," she says as she hangs up her phone and he hears a light thump on a mattress as she throws it on her bed.

There is the sound of her soft footfalls and she's outside, just above him. She's looking out over the wall and towards the city, her city. She wraps her arms around herself as she sighs aloud. He's close enough that he can see how restless she seems. Without any warning, her eyes fly to his and startles at the sight of him. Before he can tell her not to scream, she's on her knees and her head is poking through the pillows of the balcony to get a better look at him.

"I heard your voice in my head, telling me you were coming," she whispers as if in reverence and she shakes her head as if in disbelief. "Surely you must be a dream."

"Have you dreamt of me?" he tries to make it sound cocky but it does not come out that way. It sounds as breathless as she looks. He cannot fathom the possibility that they could speak to one another within their minds.

She nods.

"Tell me about them," he says and he does not know why he wants to know.

"I dreamt of an angel on the beach and perfect waves had come," she whispers again. "His hair is flying like flowing onyx and his touch is like the power of crystals."

He wants to hear her words better so he starts to climb until he reaches just under her, gripping the column beside her face for leverage, as they look at each other closely. Their faces mere breaths apart.

"I also dreamt he was walking through the forest beside an enchanted lake. Through him were the jewels of life and the ground beneath him started to shake," she continues. "I have never seen an angel before. They do not exist within this city." There is something sparkling in her eyes and he finds he cannot describe the emotion he sees there.

"There are no angels," he agrees. "No holy choirs singing. Just me. If you would settle for a boy."

"A boy would be the next best thing to an angel," she replies and smiles radiantly as she moves her face closer to his.

He smiles in response. He just cannot help himself as he looks at her. Then he decides to play. "I am a boy in a castle with fire in his eyes and whispers in his ear. I feel like I can only look down at the world below and not be part of it."

"Above with the stars?"

He nods in response.

"Not a prince, but a boy?" she asks teasingly.

"Not a prince," he states and for him, that's true.

"I am no angel either," she admits.

"No, but at least you are a girl," he says with a smirk.

That causes her to giggle and she stands straight as he gains height on the balcony ledge and stands with her with the railing between them.

"You may be no angel but you are a star are you not? A bright star," he says.

She shakes her head sadly. "I feel like a star whose light cannot shine against the artificial lights of the city."

"Stella," he says and the way he says it, causes a shiver to run through her. "You have nightmares of the past, don't you?"

"I do," she says but also adds. "But I also dream of angels and I think they have all been you. A dark angel and avenging prince. Not just a boy."

He would have labeled them as nightmares, not as dreams. But instead he says, "You know about the Watchers. The light told you."

She nods. "That is all you came here for, isn't it?" she sounds both hurt and disappointed.

He hesitates to say what he wants to say. Though he's not sure what he wants to say exactly because there is too much going through his mind.

She shakes her head to herself and turns away from him.

"Stella," he calls to her as he jumps over the railing and onto the balcony.

"They are the Mysterium and they watch over the users of the crystals."

"The Mysterium?"

Without turning, she nods her head. She has her arms crossed in front of her.

"They are represented by the crow," he offers.

"The crow?" she asks curiously. "Is that what the symbol means?" She turns back to look at him.

He nods. "We have yet to find the significance of the numbers."

"What else to you know?"

"They are tied to the Goddess Etro."

"Why do they want to kill you?" she asks curiously.

"I do not know that either," he says shaking his head. "Have they tried to hurt you?" He finds the very idea makes him irrationally angry. That they would try to hurt someone like her was almost inexcusable.

"No," she says and he feels relieved. "They must seek to preserve the last of the dying crystals and by doing that, they must kill you."

"What happens when the crystal dies?"

"The world starts anew and the last user standing gains the prize."

"Last user standing gains a prize," he repeats to himself and he feels that sinking feeling again. He cannot be too sure but he knows, deep down, that Stella must be a user of the crystals as well. He does not know why he knows this but she must. There was no other explanation for things. If he was right, that meant that they would one day have to face off and one of them would die. The stars had definitely aligned all right. Soon they would be crashing together and either one or both would have to die. One had to survive and he knew already that he would not be able to kill the girl in front of him. He feels nothing but doom ahead of them and he's afraid for the both of them again.

"I do not know anything else."

"You hear the voices and you see the light. You can harness the crystals too, can't you?"

She looks at him hesitantly. "Does that mean you will have to kill me?" she asks. "That is why your face darkened just now, isn't it? You know..."

"I could not kill you," he says honestly, even though he knows it shows weakness. As much as he wishes he can say something else it all sounds so sappy and foolish in response. There is something in her eyes that makes him say it anyway. "With you, I no longer feel alone. The darkness that follows my every step seems to lighten when I am near you."

"I could fall in love with you," she says and she's closer to him than he realized. She reaches up to touch the side of his face as her eyes roam his features. The contact is longer than the last time and he almost jerks away from the touch. Nobody really touched him, ever. "I think I might have already started."

He shakes his head to both clear his mind from the torrent of emotions he's feeling and she can also take her hand away from his face. "It is too dangerous for us to love one another," he says in reply. He's never been in love before and he wonders if this feeling he was experiencing could be considered it.

She smiles sadly at his response and even though she had wanted him to reciprocate her declaration, she had expected his answer.

"You are dangerous," he says seriously.

"Why do you say that?" she says as her eyes flash with hurt.

"There is an aura, a halo that surrounds you and shines through you that scares me. You are like a burning candle within the darkness of my soul."

"You think I will burn you?"

_You already make me burn_, he wants to say but he cannot let those words slip from his mouth. He's already exposed too much. It would irrevocably bind them together. They were two stars, his dark and dying, hers bright and shining. He was surrounded by death and she seemed to radiate life. They were already headed for disaster, he could not make it anymore tragic than it already was going to be.

He shakes his head to clear his mind again. There is hurt still in her eyes and she's still waiting for him to reply. How can she be so optimistic when they were faced with such a bleak future? What good was it to make such flowery declarations and ignore the dangers of what was going to happen to them? No matter how he looked at it, one of them was not going to live through the end of this. She had to know that too.

"I was not meant for the light," he tells her and her face looks absolutely crestfallen. He wishes he could take back what he just said but it's true and nothing could make it untrue. He refuses to make an excuse for it either. It is what will stand between them, until the end. The safest way to get through this was to deny, deny anything and everything that he felt or could feel towards her. He had already said too much when he had temporarily forgotten himself earlier by asking her if she would settle for a boy and not an angel. Too caught up in the moment to realize himself and what they were. He cannot forget himself again.

"Is that all you know of the Mysterium?" he asks more briskly than is needed.

She's looked away from him and she bites her lip, even as her eyes water.

"The light has not spoken to you of the Mysterium," she states but it sounds more like a question. "Have you never wondered why that was?"

"It could have," he shrugs. "I try not to listen to it most of the time."

"You ignore it?" she gasps. It's almost as if such an act were unthinkable. "Why?"

"They say what I do not wish to hear and they remind me of things that I remember all too well."

"Like what?"

He shakes his head because he does not wish to speak of such things, even with her.

"You remain in the darkness because you choose to," she says. "You alone have the power to come out but you don't. Why don't you?" She has moved closer to him and this time he does step back from her.

The power of her questions and the power of her presence is too overwhelming and he has to bite the inside of his cheek to stop the torrent of memories that are flashing through his head.

She grabs hold of his face and makes him look down at her. Her eyes search through his and he's not sure what she sees. He's not sure he likes it either.

"Are you looking for hope?" he asks and this time he does not feel compelled to move away from her. His hand reaches up to capture one of hers with his grasp. "You can look all you like but you will not find it anywhere in there. There is no light in the depth of the darkness within me. There is no room for light."

"I refuse to believe that," she says unafraid of him.

"Would you give it to me?" he asks, lowering his face so it that it was just a breathe away from her own. "Would you be able to give me hope? To take the blackness away?" He wishes that she really could, but he knows that such a thing was impossible.

"There is something you must do first," she says. "You have to go through this journey that you are on and stay on to the end, no matter what happens."

"Will you be there?" he asks and his face almost looks childlike this close to hers.

"The night is darkest just before the sun rises in the sky. It is the twilight hour and you must get through that. Things will only get darker until the blackness looses the battle against light."

He closes his eyes and wishes he can believe that.

"One day the nightmares will cease," she reassures him and he opens his eyes to look at her. "I will chase them away if I have to."

He cannot help but laugh a little at that.

"You can deny it all you want, you know."

"Deny what?"

"That you are falling in love with me too," she says coyly.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you crave my light as I crave your dark."

He's so staggered by her words that he does not even bother to deny them. Before he can even form any words, she pulls his face the remaining distance and presses her lips against his. Her lips are sweet against his and he's returning it before he can stop himself. Then they're gone and he leans in to press his lips against hers again, only to feel her lean away from him.

"See?" she says with a brilliant smile upon her lips. "Denying what we both know changes nothing."

He pushes her hands away from his face and he turns his back to her. "I will not deny and I will not declare but I will say this Bright Star. Whatever lies ahead of us is not just my path nor just your path but our path. We cannot escape it and we cannot fight it. We are not good and we are not bad. This is not wrong and this is not right. But it is what it was meant to be."

"Not meant to be but yet meant to fulfill our destiny," she says as she watches him turn around to look at her again, because she's felt that too but she's never been one to deny something that she felt so strongly for. He can see that in fire in her eyes. It was she that was the brave one and he was the coward.

"I accept your offer," he says.

"Offer?" she asks quizzically.

"I would greatly appreciate you showing me around your fair city, Stella."


	8. Coalesce

A/N: Things grow darker. The Twilight hour has begun. As always, check my profile for any updates and comments. Enjoy!

Chapter Eight: Coalesce

The sound of a thrusting sword. A small boy's voice grunts from the impact. Small hands tremble as they reach where his heart should have been. Confused eyes look down to see the blade protruding from his chest. The shock of it prevents his little voice from screaming. A small mouth opens yet only silence is released. Eyes fly up to the inflicter. White robes and blond hair and an unfamiliar face. Yet that face would soon be as familiar to him as his own. That unrepentant face that seemed to mock him as cool eyes observed his agony.

It was that face that will haunt him in the nightmares to come. Those unfeeling eyes and that cold face. White robes that he knew only a priest of some sort would wear and that blond hair. Even the style of it was not what his eyes had seen before. It is in the face of this figure that he finally finds his voice. He can feel something within him awaken and he feels like he's surrounded by blue light. The scream that escapes his lips is full of agony and full of anger and it causes the engulfing blue to blow the evil figure away from him. He sees the figure no more. He has not ever seen that figure again.

Somehow he knows he's been saved and he finds little comfort in that when his eyes look down and sees the red. Red, it's always red. White and then red. Red was the color of what surrounded him. Red was the color all around the bodies of his dead parents. Red tells him that never again would he hear his mother's quiet laughter. Never again would he hear the stories of his father. Never again would he laugh as freely and never would he forget what happened this day.

Then it is all replaced with the blackness. It is like a thick fog all around him. The pain in his chest is no longer there. He does not feel anything in this blackness but he knows he is not alone. There is a presence near and he knows this even though his eyes do not see anything. Then, there is the door again. A light shines from within its frame and he almost walks towards it to escape the blackness. It's then that he sees the other presence. It is as hideous as it is beautiful and it makes him shy away from the door.

"_Come to me, Noctis," _shebeckons. Her arms start to reach out for him, much like a mother to her child. She is all white but it seems an almost sickly, unnatural sort of white. A fake imitation of what the light should be.

Yet even then, his childhood self almost wants him to give in. His own mother is gone and he craves that familiar, comforting embrace. But that, that thing calling to him is not his mother. No one would be able to replace what she was, what she meant to him. Not with her imitation light and sickly paleness when his mother was what was real and what was true. So he runs, runs as hard and as fast as his little legs can carry him and he feels those ghost like tentacles of her arms just at his back. There's a another call of his name but this time it's a hiss of being defied. He remains just out of their reach until he hears the blood curdling screech and he can do nothing else but cover his ears. He's not even fully stopped before the arms grab at him and he tries to fight as they begin to pull him back towards her. Her, that fake, abominable mockery of his mother.

"_No!"_ his younger voice shouts. "_Noooo!"_

Something happens then and again he feels consumed by blue light and feels a swirling around him. Instinctively his arm goes out and there is a sword in his hand. He does not understand and he really does not care, only that he has a weapon in his hand. Using all his pain and all his anguish, he thrusts down and cuts one of the tentacles off. He hears a scream of agony and the other tentacle flies away from him. There is more screaming and this time it's in anger, a cry for revenge and he answers with a roar of his own.

He cries out, sword already in hand as he nearly jumps off the bed to attack.

"Easy there Noctis," he hears Vires say. "It's over now. You're back here with us."

He looks left to right as he takes in his surroundings and then his eyes focus on Vires standing a few feet away from his bed. The television is on and Sapien is with Des. They're both watching him behind Vires.

"Noct?" Vires calls, gaining his attention again.

"Yeah," he responds. He starts to rub his face with his hand. "What does the broadcast say?"

"Nothing's on. We missed the morning commute," states Sapien dryly.

"Crappy morning programs on now," says Des. "Better get yourself showered first there and maybe get some coffee in you too," he suggests with a nod of his head.

"Do I look that bad?"

"Yep," replies Sapien with a smirk and glance over the rim of his glasses.

He makes a face in response but gets up to walk to the bathroom anyway. A shower and coffee sounded very good right now irregardless. He echoes that statement as the hot water, from the overhead shower, pelts down upon him and he lifts his face to the spray. It's a small luxury and he tries to enjoy it before he shuts the water off and then towels the remaining moisture from his body.

Walking to the foggy mirror, he swipes away the condensation and looks at his reflection within the glass. Leaning in, he looks hard into the lines of his face and into his own eyes. He wonders what Stella saw within their depths the night before. Would she really be able to take away the darkness that prevailed within him? Was such a thing possible? How could she always be so positive? With her own dark experience with death, how was it that she could see the good when he could only see the bad? Would she be strong enough to give them both light?

Shaking his head, he feels foolish for even considering such a notion and goes about his daily ritual of hygiene upkeep. Teeth are thoroughly brushed. Facial hair is shaved away with quick, precise swipes of his blade and a comb is carefully run through his impossible hair. Though, he does take a little longer to be a little more careful than usual while combing his hair this day. He does not stop to consider why he adjusts the collar of his outfit more than once either.

A cloud of steam proceeds him as he walks back into the main room where his friends are sitting in front of the television. There is an empty space, just for him and a mug of coffee waiting on the table before it. There's a scone too and he would smirk but that would sound ungrateful.

"No time for a fancy breakfast," remarks Sapien but Noctis knows he's not talking about him.

"So says Mr. Sensible," grumbles Des, who is clearly unhappy that he has to settle for such a small meal to break his fast.

"Thank you," he says as he sits down and takes his first sip. The flavor is savored in his mouth for a moment as he appreciates the hint of spice naturally within the brew. He's never had coffee that tastes quite like it but he finds he likes it enough.

The four friends sit there together as they watch what must be some sort of morning variety show as he feels the caffeine take effect within him. He allows himself to settle back into the couch and lays his head back.

"We brought funds but we didn't bring that much," says Sapien pointedly as he looks at Des over his glasses.

"How long did you plan on staying anyway?" he asks.

Sapien shrugs in response. "Not too long. I figured it wouldn't take us that long to find what we were looking for."

"Have you found anything on your handheld?"

"There are a few places that I think we should check out on our tour," Sapien answers before he sips at his coffee. "There's a very old Cathedral for the goddess Etro here that I think we should take a look at."

"Are you sure it's a good idea to have Stella show us around?" asks Vires.

He does not think it's a good idea at all, but he cannot resist it. Any chance to see Stella again and that admission alone takes so much from him. He should be running away and avoiding her at all cost, but he's too weak. He's too afraid to, even as he's afraid of their eventual outcome.

"Stella is the only option," says Sapien when Noctis neglects to make a response.

"Can we talk about it?" asks Des and the questions surprises him. His friend usually doesn't bother to ask.

"About what?" asks Noctis.

"About Stella," he stresses.

"What about Stella?" he looks to all his friend's faces and sees the same curiosity.

"You have more than just a passing fancy for her, is what Des is so eloquently trying to say," remarks Sapien with a shrug.

"Why do we need to have a group discussion about this?" he asks.

"Noct, we're not trying to say this is an all boys club and all that jazz... we.. er... a little help?" says Des as he looks at Sapien for the right words.

"We want to know if we are to extend the same as we would to you," Sapien explains.

Meaning, if he wanted them to protect Stella as they would himself. When put that way, it would make perfect sense for them to talk about it and he does not feel as defensive about the subject. They were so few words and they meant so much.

"You are serious about this one. You don't even have to say anything, but we know. You've never really had a particular interest in any of the female species but this one... not only is she different, she's not the sort you fancy and ditch later," says Vires.

_If only they knew_, he thinks and he has no idea what to tell them. They were no more able to protect her from their shared fate than he was. He feels powerless and inadequate himself. There was no stopping what was to come. They were offering loyalty to her for his sake because they were his brothers and they would protect anyone else that he cared for. It is because they are his brothers that they knew he cared for Stella, no more than cared for her, even though he could not even admit that fact to himself, nor to her. There is no reply because right now, they needed to protect themselves and not worry about him or Stella. His fate and her fate seemed set and he needed to be able to face it head on. He needs to protect all of them and not the other way around.

The emergency broadcast system sounds alarm just then and the four of them turn to stare at the Television screen.

"This is an emergency news update..." that causes him alarm as his eyes look to his friends before looking up at the screen again. "Attacks have been reported just outside the city borders from the soldiers of Nihil. Despite earlier reports of peaceful negotiations between our people and the people of Nihil, with the disappearance of Prince Noctis Lucis of the house of Caelum, that has all changed. Lord Aenigma, head counselor of the Nihil, has issued a declaration of war. It has been reported that our own government had been directly responsible for the failed assassination attempt on the Prince not two weeks ago. Prince Noctis is now missing, presumed dead after another assassination attempt yesterday morning..."

He can feel his whole body shaking in his anger as he stands up. His anger rises with each false word that issues from the reporter's mouth. The audacity of Aenigma to do such a thing. How dare he? How dare he try something like this? Someone was going to pay for this. No, not someone, Aenigma.

The air around them starts to crackle as he grows angrier and his thoughts turn darker.

"Why don't they ever show a picture of you?" asks Des curiously.

He does not have to guess why that is. Aenigma would not run the risk of anyone finding him within the city unharmed. His very presence within the city has give Aenigma the reason he needed to attack. He should have been more careful. He should have done something to prevent this. He should have been smarter. The room is starting to fill with blue light and he's too angry to notice it.

"I guess we're not going to get a tour from Stella afterall," says Des to try and lighten the mood.

It works. At the mention of Stella, he pauses in his inner thoughts. Turning his head, he looks at Des and then he looks at Sapien and Vires in turn.

"I have to find Stella," and that is all he needs to say before his friends all stand up and ready themselves to leave.

It does not take them very long and the four of them are already walking down the hall of the dingy motel that they have stayed. There is the sound of four doors closing and an engine igniting and they are gone.

"I guess it makes no sense to ask if you had a designated spot to meet today," says Sapien as they all sit inside the car.

There are even more people out than the day before. People are fleeing the city and the cars have flooded the streets in a tight gridlock. They have not been able to move for some time. The pedestrians outside were making faster progress than they were in the car.

"I am getting out," he says as he reaches for the handle.

"We'll be in touch," says Sapien with a wave and a sigh.

"Our regards to Stella," says Vires and he's not teasing.

Des settles for just a salute as Noctis opens the door.

Black boots touch the sidewalk and a black leather clad body follows to stand on the edge of the street. He closes the door sharply and carefully looks around to see if anyone has recognized him. Nobody does. He walks in contrast to everyone else running around him and his powers keep anyone from preventing his progress. He does notice that a few seem confused when they get in his path and are pushed away by an invisible barrier but they have more important things on their mind. It's not purposely done, but sometimes his powers active before he realize them to be.

He cannot sense her just yet. As hard as he tries, he just cannot feel her presence and it disturbs him. He does not try for the castle because if she is anything like him, she's already long gone, to do something more important. Denying it really does change nothing. Even without wanting to, he is worried about her. He is worried about her more than he should be and he knows he will be at ease until he has seen her safe.

_Where are you?_ He thinks within his head and hopes that she answers. After long moments, there is no answer and he does not repeat it. Something is wrong. Something is very wrong. He can feel that though he cannot feel her.

It's a couple blocks later and he still cannot feel her near and he is more than a little worried. To loose Stella now would plunge him forever into the deathly abyss of loneliness. He does not think he can stand to be without what he feels is growing between themselves. The knowledge that this will all end in tragedy does nothing to squelch his dread that something evil has happened to her. He cannot and will not allow what they have to be cut off sooner than it needed to be. Darkness craved light, as he has begun to crave Stella.

Two loud explosions echo from just inside the city and the crowds panic even further to utter chaos. People crush each other and many fall under the weight of stampeding feet. Babies and children are crying and everything is a blur of blind frenzy. He wishes he can help but then there is nothing to be done in the face of mindless hysteria. The only thing he can do is not trample anyone himself as he makes his way quickly along the streets and heavily collides with another body.

He does not have time to wonder how the person got through his shield when he realizes with a startled gasp. "Stella?" he asks as he catches her in his arms.

She looks dazed and terrified. There are tears in her eyes and she looks as if she's seen a nightmare come to life. Her clothes, once pristine and white are dirty and it looks like she has blood on them too. She's breathing too quickly and she does not even seem to recognize him. There was no time to do this on the sidewalk. So he lifts her in his arms and makes his way through the crowds, pushing anyone that dared to get in his way. There is an open lobby not far away and he kicks open the door before entering. He makes sure to see if it's empty of anyone before he sets her down to sit upon one of the chairs.

"Stella?" he asks again as he reaches to touch her face. His eyes scan all of her that he can see to make sure she's not harmed. He's shaken by the fact that he did not sense her near and he's shaken because he should not take comfort in being able to sense her at all.

Her eyes respond to his call and tears roll down her face. "Noct," she says as if she cannot believe that he is there with her.

"Tell me what happened?" he asks gently. He does not wish to scare her further by asking too harshly.

"I just... I went to pray to the goddess for mercy..." she says as she trails off midsentence.

"Did someone hurt you?" he nearly hisses. Sapien had been right. There was something in that cathedral.

"Hurt me?" she asks confused as her eyes meet his. "No, no of course not."

He eyes the blood stains on her clothes and feels a little relief that they were harmed while she was not. At least, not in the physical sense that is. "What happened?"

"I just... I cannot believe.. it just is not possible...." she's rambling which can only mean shock. "Noctis!" she cries suddenly as she grabs his shoulders and looks at him fearfully.

"I am here, Stella," he reassures her, even as he feels like he can kill whoever has done this to her. He leans his forehead against hers to try and comfort her as much as himself.

"Noctis," she says again as she grabs his face. "You must, you must promise me."

"Promise you what, Stella?"

"That you will not kill my father. No matter what he's done."

"Why would I kill your father?" he asks. The thought had not even crossed his mind and he's nearly dumbfounded that she would think that he would.

"He tried to kill you," she says.

"No, he did not," he tells her. "Your father had nothing to do with that, Stella."

For some reason that does not reassure her in the slightest and she starts to openly weep as she throws her arms around his neck. "Promise me," she breathes against his neck.

A black gloved hand rests reassuringly against her head as he nods. "I promise." He pulls back to kiss her forehead as if to seal his promise and looks into her eyes. "Now, tell me what happened while you were at the cathedral praying."

"I was praying and giving offerings when the whispers... they were not whispers any longer, but screams," she says as she begins to shiver. "They were screaming at me."

"What were they saying?"

"There was something I did not do. Something I had not seen. Something that I missed and the whispers were displeased." she looks at him. "There is something... something underneath the cathedral."

"Did you go down there?"

She nods slowly and she has that fearful look of shock again. Shock of an unmentionable trauma and he hopes to never see that expression on her face again.

"What happened?"

"That is not the goddess that I worship!" she cries into her hands.

He wonders what she would think of his views on the subject. His experiences had not painted the goddess in any sort of good light.

"I cannot speak it. I will not recall it," she says. More explosions within the outer portion of the city, signaling the approach of his army just outside its borders. They do not have a lot of time, but he calculates that they have a few hours until the army will proceed with a full assault. These were just scare tactics to get the civilians a chance to run and leave the soldiers behind. He knows she needs that time to get out before she gets caught in the crossfire. "We must get out of here." She says it almost absently, like a second thought. She's not worried and he feels she should be. In the state that she is in, she will not be able to defend herself properly. Her powers would be too unstable and may end up hurting her instead of protecting her.

"Not until you tell me what you saw down there, Stella."

"You should not go down there," she warns.

"What is down there?"

"You cannot go. It is now heavily guarded. I.... barely managed to escape."

"Stella," he warns because he knows she's avoiding his questions.

"The Mysterium."

"Do you mean to tell me that they have been living within the confines of your city all this time? Right under the cathedral?"

She nods. "I know how this must look," she tries to explain.

"No, you are not to blame," he says and he believes that's true. He had been surrounded by traitors all his life. It was not too far fetched to think she had been as well.

"I would advise you not to go but I know you will not heed my warning," she says and it sounds as if she's telling herself that moreso than him.

"What did they do to you while you were down there?"

"They did not do anything. I... they did not see me," and her words do not exactly ring true. Not with the blood on her clothes. She's hiding something and he feels a sharp pinch within his chest.

_So it has already begun,_ he thinks as he withdraws from her. Whatever small thing they had developed is already cut prematurely with her stark denial to tell him exactly what had happened. She did something to betray him. She is keeping something from him. He feels all sense of feeling drain from his head down to his feet and is left with only numbness.

"No, not that," she says, cutting into his thoughts. She stands quickly to face him. "I am not betraying you!" There must be something in his face that has warned her of his thoughts and it is enough to make her forget her own panic. "Stop that!" she says as she grabs his face to look into his eyes. "What we have is real. What we feel is real. It is not pretend. It is not a lie. You are dark and I am light and we cannot live without the other."

Again. Twice within the span of a few hours and they are right where he had wanted them to be. As much as he had wanted to deny and wanted to shy away from, he realizes this is where he had always wanted them to be. Her and him, together and connected. His lips to hers. This time he pulls her body as close to his as he can as he drinks from her. For this time, it is not a mere brush of her sweet lips against his. He takes from her the light he has so desperately craved and he gave her the blackness in return. Yet he knows, he knows deep within himself, it has already begun. Their descent and it does not even matter if she really is betraying him or not. It makes him cling to her even tighter as the kiss continues.

"Noct," she says breathlessly when they have finally parted. It sounds like she wants to say something to him. She wants to tell him what is too dangerous for him to hear. What she really wanted to tell the night before, but he will not let her speak those words out loud.

"No," he says shaking his head. Because he will deny her and himself a declaration now, as he had before.

He can hear her sad sigh as she looks up at him. There are tears in her eyes again, but they are not of fear, but of sad acceptance. Yet even this way, with shining eyes, red nose and swollen lips, she is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. She will never cease to take his breathe away. Yet it does not compel him enough to say it and she knows that even now, when they were at the brink, she could not make him.

"Can you get to safety?" he asks softly.

She nods as he wipes a tear slowly from her cheek. Her eyes close as she tries to savor his touch. It almost drives him to kiss her again.

Almost.

"I have to meet my friends."

"It saddens me that I did not get to show you around today," she says earnestly.

"Me too," he responds. He stares at her a long moment before he drops his hand away and he turns to the door. His hand pauses upon the handle for a moment. He wants nothing more than to turn around to stay with her. Stay with her until this whole world blows up around them and there is nothing left but darkness and light, together without the doom to be separated.

"Until we meet again," she calls after him.

"Until we meet again," he repeats and he does not look back when he walks through the door and joins the chaotic crowd outside. He knows, she has calmed down just enough to get away safely. He supposes it worked both ways. Feeding her his dark has calmed her as her fire has fanned the flames of his determination.

Reaching into one of the pouches in his belt, he pulls out his communicator and places it in his ear. His heart is heavy but he cannot stop to think about it right now. He has found the Mysterium and he needs to regroup with his friends. Ignoring the whispers is easier the the screams all around him. He knows they are warnings to him but he cannot heed them. Whatever he finds in the depths of that cathedral, whether good or bad, is something he has been waiting to do since his parents were slaughtered and he was almost killed. Nothing will stop him.

"Where are you guys?" he asks.

"See that empty bridge?"

He looks up and see one a couple blocks away. It must give them a good view of the city.

"Why is it empty?"

"The end of it was blown," says Sapien.

"Bang up job too," remarks Des.

"Do you see a cathedral?"

Silence for a moment.  
"There it is!" shouts Des.

"What's there?" asks Vires.

"The Mysterium."

"We'll move the car in front of it on the bridge," remarks Sapien.

"I will be there shortly," he says as he looks at the building beside him. It's slightly taller than the ones around it and he can use the height.

Blue light is muted in the daylight but it is still there and it's power is still grand. Whether the people around him notice does not matter. There is no time to be subtle. He teleports upwards, jumping from floor to floor until he reaches the roof and lands softly along the edge. Swishing sounds follow him as he breaks into a run and teleports from rooftop to rooftop, quickly making his way to the bridge where his friends are. Jumping, disappearing and reappearing upon each roof until he's just under the bridge. He jumps as high as he can and his powers take him the rest of the way as he grabs hold of the edge of the bridge. Swinging his body forward and back, he pushes backwards to fly over the railing and land in a kneeling position upon the pavement. He stands easily as he looks over to see where his friends are and runs the rest of the way towards them.

They're waiting for him directly in front of the cathedral. Sapien and Vires stand waiting bye the car while Des stands with his arm resting upon one of the bridge columns.

"There is only one place that it could be," says Sapien and he nods in response.

Noctis walks past him to stand on the edge to look upon the building. He's right. There is no other place that it could be. It stands there and looks both foreboding and threatening. He can appreciate it's dark appeal and he's more than a little sure about how he attempts to get inside. There is smoke coming out from somewhere he cannot see and he knows he needs to hurry before he looses this chance. No matter what, he had to see what was inside. It had been enough to terrify Stella and he is sure that it will shake him too. But he was more equipped to deal with things that were sinister and evil. Her kind should not ever see such things.

Without having to say a word, he turns from the building to make his way to the car and his friends follow behind him. They know what's coming and they are ready, as they always are, for a fight. They had made themselves ready ever since they were boys.

It's not until they are in the car that anyone speaks.

"How are we getting in?" asks Vires.

"Through the front door," he answers as Sapien reeves up the engine. "They started this. We bring the fight to their front door."


	9. Mysterium

A/N: I am sorry for the delay. It's coming to the climax and then the end. Please visit my profile for any updates and thoughts or explanations. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter Nine: Mysterium

"This uh, somehow this seems a little bit sacrilegious doesn't it?"

"I think that is the most complex word you have ever used."

"I am always full of surprises," proclaims Des proudly. "But don't you guys think so?"

His three friends look at each other and then look at him.

"This is not sacrilegious," answers Noctis. "There is nothing sacred here."

They all notice the tension in his voice.

"I did tell you guys about cool secret society names," Des points out.

"Noct, you want us to not only attack, but destroy a temple to Etro," says Vires.

"Call it payback," he says in answer. "Remember to wait until I am in the building a few moments."

"There will not be enough time," states Sapien.

Time. When once he had waited impatiently for it to pass, now it was not enough. Things were moving so speedily that he could not keep up. The hands of time were flying circles around the clock and now could not wait for him. What a change when it had been he who had not been able to wait for it be so. Now it was all he could do to keep up with it.

"This is not a social visit," he says. "How long will I have?"

"Are you sure?" asks Vires.

"Yes," he says with finality. "Whatever is in there is evil and it needs to be destroyed. They attacked my home. I shall pay retribution."

Des twists his lips in thought but does not say anything and Vires cannot refute that statement. Sapien merely continues to type into his handheld, because he's the least worried of the three. They are all worried about the consequences, they must be, of what they were about to do, except him. He does not care, but he does care if his friends are torn.

"This is my decision," he tells them. "I will take whatever blame there is. If any of you are not comfortable, I will not hold it against you." He means that but Des and Vires merely shake their heads. They are with him, no matter what.

"From what I'm reading on the schematics here, there is an underground floor but the stair case is hidden," states Sapien. He shows his handheld to Noctis. He knows that if Sapien had any complaint he would have voiced them by now. "Right there is where you should find it. You have thirty minutes."

He nods to the three of them as he turns the corner to make his way to the main entrance. The Cathedral is centrally located but there is no real foot traffic now. The citizens, as a majority, have already succeeded in evacuating. It's a small relief because he does not want a crowd to see what is about to happen. His steps are concise and determined as he gets closer to the door. As if in anticipation for either himself or any would be rioters, there is a small group of soldier guarding the front gate. Soldiers wearing the same ancient armor he had seen that night when all this had started. They do not take him long to take out. He tries to do it as quietly as he can but he knows they are already expecting him.

With a gesture of his hand, the doors fly open and he enters the threshold. Even with the rubber soles of his boots, his steps still manage to echo in the large hall. It is mostly dark within. There is the flicker of many, countless candles and the rays of the afternoon sun peak through the multi colored glass pane above. The stone floors are cold and he sees a few diligent parishioners praying near the altar. A part of him wants to sneer that they should pray to something so unholy as death. His eyes reach up and see the large portrait of the goddess Etro and glares.

The parishioners turn to stare at him as he stands there. He is sure of the picture he must make to them. A dark presence with red glowing eyes like a nightmare to their prayers. Some almost look hopeful and he cannot understand that. He does not planned to be their savior.

"Please, leave," he beckons to them and his gentle voice alarms them as his presence there had not. He supposes nightmares do not usually speak so nicely. "This fight does not concern you," he tells them as he hears the sounds of rushing armor making their way into the great hall. "Go now," he warns them one final time before his insignia flashes blue and that seems to jump them out of their mesmerized stupor to obey. They rush past him, careful not to get to close as they run towards the exits.

He waits until they are have all gone before he walks between the pews and his eyes scan the room to see what he is up against. There are more soldiers than he calculated there being and they've encircled all around him. Half on the upper level and the other with him on the ground. All their guns are aimed at his head as he meets them all in the eye, almost as if seeing their individual faces through their heavy helmets.

Then the shots begin to ring out and echo within the vast expanse of the hall. His sword flashes in his hand and he's already on the upper floor. There is the sound of slashing. There is the sound of stabbing. There is the sound of slicing and he's too fast to keep up with. There is no way for his enemy to know where he will appear next as the killing continues. One by one and sometimes two by two and they all begin to fall. Some fall with the misled aims of their comrades. Most fall from the blade he wields in his hand.

There is the sound of pain and the sounds of death and it seems so fitting that they should fill this place, dedicated to death itself. All upon the top floor are done away with and he lands on the ground, facing the altar. Candles surround him, casting an ethereal glow from his red eyes as he turns to glare at the remaining ones behind him. They aim their guns again when a large piece of the roof explodes above them. It is too late to duck for cover as the thick beams and concrete fall to crush them under their massive weight. The impact knocks over several of the large candle bras and the altar covering catches fire. He takes a moment to watch as the portrait of Etro burns. Slowly, the flames progress upwards and her face is the last to be consumed. He can almost hear her screams echo in his mind. That screeching noise that deafened all other sounds and he savored it.

"Burn," he says hatefully as he uses his telekinesis to move the altar away from its base, causing it to crash along the wall, to reveal the secret door. "I am headed down the stairs now."

"Copy that."

"Thirty minutes," reminds Vires.

"Thirty minutes," he repeats as he lifts the door and peers down at the steep staircase. It spirals down in a dizzying descent and he's thankful he does not need to actually run down them all. He teleports swiftly to the bottom.

Down here, the air is thick with moisture. It's dark and musky and it smells of decay. He is not sure he wants to know of what. There is little light but he sees a few drops of blood in front of him and thinks back to the stains on Stella's clothes. This was not a place Stella should have ever ventured into but he can tell enough about her to know that no one would have been able to stop her. Just as no one would be able to stop him either. One in the same, yet black as white. How odd a match.

Almost unconsciously he finds himself clearing his mind enough to try and hear what the whispers are telling him now. Stella's shock at his refusal to hear them, compelling him.

_You already know what is to come._

He nods in response.

There is only one door ahead of him. A thick door of wood with blue light peaking through its cracks. It is old as this place is old. Whoever awaits him behind the door knew he was coming. He knows they have been expecting his arrival ever since he was a boy. Since that day that his life was forever changed. The day that continues to haunt him endlessly within both his nightmares and conscious dreams.

The wooden door flies open with the force of his determination and hatred as he calmly walks through the frame. He is ready as Stella must not have been ready. Standing there, are several white robed, hooded men hovering over something he cannot yet see. Before him stands a narrow path completely surrounded by blue glowing water. It is like a mystical lake of legend and its light bathes the entire room with its blue light. All but one of the hooded figures turn to regard him and they attack swiftly.

Their ability to teleport gives him pause for a moment, just a moment, before he retaliates. It is even with their small abilities, they are still no match for his and he shows them no quarter. He does not even stop walking as their bodies fall and sink into the blue water all around him. He can feel the path trembling as he takes each determined step towards the only white robed figure still standing with its back to him. This one, one white robed figure he has been looking for his whole life.

What looks like an illuminated transporter flashes of blue and unfamiliar symbols flash before him but it does not make him pause. A display of power is not enough to deter him. The man must know this as he turns to look at him to reveal himself at last.

"We are finally here, Prince Noctis," he addresses needlessly. He is the same. It is that same face that he can remember so clearly. That cold, unsympathetic face that had watched him suffer through the stab of a blade through his chest. A stab that had just missed his heart but had forever scarred him. That face that had show no remorse about murdering his parents. Nothing in the face of his agonizing loss.

He does not make a reply because to do so would seem inane.

"Don't you have questions?" he asks him. What questions he may have had are nothing in comparison to the all consuming need for vengeance that he feels. "That thirsty to avenge your parents. What I did.. what I gave you was a gift."

"There is no gift in death," Noctis replies angrily.

"Oh yes there is, dear Prince. You gained your powers and now you are stronger. Stronger than any of those that came before you. She granted you that."

"She only granted me suffering and darkness."

The man shakes his head. "It is always the most favored of children that never fully appreciate what has been given them."

"Most … favored," he repeats with a hiss. "I can tell you where she can shove that!"

His hand comes out before him and blue light flashes as Noctis raises his arm to protect himself. His sword appears in his hand as he too thrusts his hand out to encircle the figure with his armory. To find his own body is surrounded by a blue light not his own. They stand off. There is no special insignia around this man. Only the lines of this blue portal and he knows if anything else, he does not want to go teleported anywhere he does not choose to go.

"You were to be her most favorite son and you thank her by running away and harming her," he says reproachfully as he disappears before Noctis' eyes.

He's barely given a moment of warning before he knows the man is directly behind him, ready to strike and he's deflected his blow. Noctis reappears a few feet away and they begin their battle again. Clashes of blue and dashes of light but only Noctis leaves the essence of crystals behind. He does not have time to concentrate on that as they both charge each other and clash again.

"For that, I shall never be sorry nor penitent," he vows as he swipes at nothing but blue air and sees his foe near the altar. "Since when do gods bleed as we?" The sight in front of him causes him to startle and he immediately feels a shiver in his spine. He looks at the severed tentacle that they must have been tending to when he had entered. "All this time. You have kept that wretched thing?" It looked perfectly preserved and looks as hideous as the day he had cut it off.

"There are many things we do not understand about that day."

Had they been studying it all this time? Or laying it reverently for the return of the Etro?

"You do not deserve answers," he hisses as he advances forward. They clash again and he's mindful, even now, to stay as far away from that severed limb as he had when he was little. The thought of touching it again makes him feel repulsed.

"But I suppose you do," the man suggests.

"Yes, I do," he had not asked for this and what he had done that day had been instinctual, not methodical.

The fight continues on. Flashes of blue and clangs of steel collide around the room and the water and severed tentacle are the only witnesses to this fight between the avenger and his revenge. He sees a face in his mind. He sees it so clearly that he can almost imagine they are there within this room. It's her face. Stella's face and she's looking at him with heartbreak and sorrow and pleading in her eyes and he does not understand why. He hears her voice, telling him no. But then he hears that sound and he can only focus on that. That sound that he has heard so many times within his memory and it signals an ending to their battle. Only this time, it is not he who has the blade embedded in his chest. He has not missed his mark.

_No!_

Blood seeps through white cloth and drops haphazardly onto the floor and into the water. A strangled gasp and the sound of the man, so long hated, collapses onto his knees.

"I went to kill you that day. Because I knew, I knew you would reject this. But you did not let me kill you, even then." He coughs blood onto the stone floor and tries to steady himself with his right hand. "Yet even now with your continued defiance, you are still the favored. Even though we tried to replace you."

"Replace me?" and he does not even need a real answer. Because he knows. He knows who the man is speaking of and then it makes sense that he should see Stella. Stella's tear stained face as she seems to know what he's done. What he has done to the both of them. His sword drops in his hand and disappears before it can hit the stone floor. He staggers back from the man as he realizes exactly what he has done.

_Oh no_, he thinks. _Stella_, and even in his head he can hear the strain in his own voice.

_You must, you must promise me. That you will not kill my father. No matter what he's done. He tried to kill you. _

She had known. That was why she had been so scared. It had not been of what she had seen. It had been what she had foreseen. That was what she had not been able to tell him. This man, the man that he had wanted to kill ever since he was a boy, was her father. The king of Tenebrae was this man and he had just delivered the killing blow without any restraint. The consequences, how the consequences would mount and he hadn't even thought…

"She will finish it. She will finish what I could not," he reassures Noctis as he lets himself fall the rest of the way to the cold floor.

He can hear Stella's scream like an echo in the distance and he knows, he knows that she knows, what he has done. Her father was dead. He is witnessing as the life leaves his eyes. He knows he should feel a certain sense of satisfaction, even relief, that he had finally gotten his revenge. Yet he felt neither. What was left was a tugging upon his heart as he thought about what this would mean, what this meant for he and Stella. She had not betrayed him, but he had betrayed her. Betrayed her with a broken promise and gifted her with the same loneliness as he. An orphan forever and he knew she would never forgive him.

The grounds begins to shake and speckles of dust fall into the water around him as his friends begin their mission to destroy the cathedral.

"Noct! Get out of there!" warns Sapien.

How would he be able to face Stella? He looks at the dead body before him as if to ask.

"Noct! Where are you man?" shouts Des.

He looked towards the altar and sees that hideous appendage. It still lays there, carefully laid and he wishes he could burn it. Burn it and watch as it blew up in flames. But there was no time and he knew he would not be able to touch it anyway. Turning, he quickly runs outside the room and continues towards the stairs. As he wisps here and there, he cannot get Stella's look of horror out of his mind. Her distant cries of loss, echo in his ears as the walls around him fall. It had not even been worth it. He did not know that much more than he knew before. There had been no time for real answers and he felt like he lost more than he gained. He felt betrayed. Betrayed that he was not been given satisfaction but more blackness. He had lost so much in one slash of his sword. He had lost too much and he had betrayed her.

He had betrayed her.

Stumbling away from the wreckage, he sees the car swerve around the corner and slide towards him. The door swings open just before.

"Noct! Get in!" shouts Des.

He does not get in.

"Noct!" shouts Vires.

He looks once more upon the building he is responsible for destroying and knows he should be glad of his revenge. Glad that the most influential part of his life was now over, but there was no comfort. Only an ache is left behind. An ache full of dread and loss.

"Noct!" shouts Sapien.

He does not take his eyes away from the building even as he steps into the car and closes the door behind him. His eyes cannot leave the sight. The building burns, burning all his hopes along with it.

"What happened? What's wrong?" asks Sapien as they speed away.

He can only sit back in his seat and groan in internal agony. His chest could not stop aching. It was as if he felt Stella's heartbreak as acutely as if he it were his own. He closes his eyes as he leans his head back on the head rest. It does not help because he can see her. He can see her more clearly with his eyes closed. He can make out the tears in her eyes. He can see the betrayal within their depths as they accuse him and they had a right to accuse him. His face ends up in his hands and his elbows rest upon his knees. He does not hear her ask him why. She does not need to because she knows. She knows. He can hear her cries of anguish and retribution. All his hate and all his need for vengeance had transferred to her. He had given that to her and now she had the blackness in her, like a plague.

There is intense silence within the car as the other three exchange worried looks and have no idea what to say and no idea what to think. He is too caught up in his own thoughts to notice the concerned looks from his friends. All he knows is that he's ultimately failed. He has ruined everything and he had not even known. What makes it infinitely worse is that it probably would not have mattered if he had known. He would have done it anyway. That is what made things worse. Even if he had known, despite the promise, despite how he felt about Stella, despite the repercussions, he would have done it anyway. There truly was no hope for him. He brought darkness into anything that he touched. He was poison and death and nothing could change that and nothing could save him. Now Stella was poisoned.

He was right. The light only brought death and that was all that was ahead of them.

"Easy there, Noct. Take it easy," he hears Vires say.

He opens his eyes and sees that everything is blue and the car is shaking. There is too much pressure within his chest. His breath is too constricted. He cannot breathe! There was too much bottled up. Too many emotions threatening to burst forth from his chest. He feels utterly consumed with all of them at once. He needs to get it out. He needs to get out of the car. He needs to get out of the car right now.

"Stop the car," he says, because he cannot stand it. "Stop the car.. now!"

Sapien screeches to a stop and he flies out of the car and onto the pavement. He screams. Screams with everything he has bottled up inside. Screams so loud that blue light explodes all around him and the buildings all around them shake. There is the sound of shattered glass and debris and the air becomes filled with it. He feels the tension lesson as his shoulders slump.

"Did he, get away?" Des asks hesitantly and it is that endearing sort of bafflement in his voice and Vires' accompanying slap on the back of the head that stabilizes him.

He almost chokes on a laugh, a hysterical sort of laugh. He shakes his head instead because he cannot quite speak yet. His emotions were too raw and his voice is not capable of voicing it.

"Did you not kill him then?" asks Sapien.

He stares and he can still see the burning cathedral and somehow the sight causes him to straighten his back. He needs too accept this. He needs to keep going. Maybe by confessing it would lighten his guilt. "He is dead."

"Then why are you so upset?" asks Des.

He does not know exactly how to respond to that. Where would they like him to start?

"Who was he?" asks Sapien and the question is asked so suddenly and he knows Sapien has already guessed it. It causes him to breathe again and he releases a long sigh through his nose as he closes his eyes to prepare himself to answer.

"The King of Tenebrae."

The statement hangs in the air. He waits a moment to let them digest what he has just said before he turns around to face them again. They all know what this means and how badly this makes them. No, bad is not the word. This was catastrophic. Catastrophic is so many ways and he could only focus on Stella. How had it come to the point where she mattered more than anything else?

He wishes this were somehow a joke because he would have thought that the varying expressions on each of their faces were comical.

"Are you all right?" asks Sapien after a long silence.

All he can do is shrug in answer but he knows they understand. What could he say to that? He would never be all right.

"This is just so messed up!" says Des.

"What are we going to do?" asks Vires.

"Tenebrae will retaliate," states Sapien.

"Our soldiers are already at the borders of the city," says Vires.

"And they are loyal to Aenigma," says Des.

They understand and that in itself brings a certain relief. They know what it all means that he has killed who he has killed. He is so glad that he does not have to explain. He shouldn't have thought he had to. These were his friends. These were his brothers. Of course they would know and they would understand and they would stand beside him. He does not think he has ever been as grateful to them as he is now.

"We need to get out of here," he says, walking to the car and opening the door.

"Noct, what about Stella?" asks Sapien.

That makes him stop but he does not turn around. Count on Sapien to point out the most prevalent of his thoughts. Only this morning they had offered to protect her and now, now…

"I was not meant for the light," he says as he steps in and shuts the door.

_Do not give up hope._

Hope. Give up hope? There was no hope to give up. There was only pain. There was only despair. There was only loneliness. Loneliness with whispers and nightmares and being surrounded by countless people that would never understand. People who would never understand and they would never truly know what it was like to see the light and the bitterness that his entire existence was. What was hope when he had finally found one who would understand and now he had lost her. He already knew that, but he supposes he needed to be sure.

The sun had all but disappeared from the sky and the night was rising. The moon was the color of blood and it was him. He was the night and he only had blood to offer. Noctum was rising. Things could not be unchanged and he had no time for regrets, at least, not yet. There are things that he must do and things that he had to take care of. He can hear the distant sounds of fighting and knows that the battle has begun.

Noctum will rise.


	10. Reluctor

A/N: It's finally out. The beginning of the end. I hope everyone enjoys!

Chapter Ten: Reluctor

There was no doubt in his mind that this entire interlude was made up of the most pivotal moments of his life. His young life. Young, yet he felt so old. His life, his choices, his friends, his sanity are being tested and threatened and right now he was having a very hard time not letting it consume him. Reassuring himself with the knowledge that his friends would always be by his side only helped marginally. That is, before he felt the dread set in at the reality that life was so fragile. It could be taken away too soon and too swiftly. There was no predicting and no way to know for sure. Life was nothing if not unpredictable.

The fool. He had always felt that title had perfectly matched his life. He was a fool. He was Fortune's fool. Now he finds he is a favored child and that makes him the fool all the more. How ironic, when he was the one who hated her the most. Hated her for being the cause of so much anguish. Hated her for being the reason he lost his parents too soon. Hated her for even considering that she could replace his mother. If anything in his life had ever been sacred, it had been her and she had died. Had she died in vain? She had died to save him and he wonders what her last thoughts had been. What the last thoughts of his father had been. Would they have approved of what he had become? Would they have thought him a fool as well?

Now, now not only was he a fool. He was now a fool on parade. A deathly parade of destruction and resentment and hate. All things that he knew so well. He was the cause and he was the effect and he would be the one to stop it. So help him he was going to stop it.

"I would just like to say, that I know we've done some pretty stupid things in our lives," states Sapien and he says it so nonchalantly, so matter of factly that it does not sound like any sort complaint. It is merely an observation. They all feel him floor the accelerator.

"This might top it," says Vires in agreement and his tone is equally factual.

"Yeah, but you know you've never felt more alive!" screams Des as he raises his arms high above his head and lets the wind ruffle his already ruffled hair.

"Only fools can do what is most foolish," states Vires with a roll of his eyes.

"Then we're all fools," answers Des smuggly.

"I most of all," claims Noctis.

"Nope, you're the leader. We're more fools for following," responds Des with a nod to emphasize his point.

"King of the fools," comments Sapien with a smirk.

"A kingdom of four," said Vires with a smirk of his own.

"Nice one," says Des. "The only way I think this might even work is because the car is black and it's night. It'll look like you're flying, Noct."

"You guys are sure this is going to work?" he asks but he's looking at Sapien in the rear view mirror.

"Bring the fireworks, Noct," is the reply.

"Don't worry about us," says Vires.

"What if...?"

"Beauty of an armored car," explains Vires.

"And make sure you scream loud enough," advises Des.

"I am not screaming."

"Come on! Don't you have a howl?"

"Howl?"

"You do sort of remind me of a wolf sometimes..."

"Focus Des," reminds Sapien.

"Right, you should just scream."

"I cannot believe I am doing this," says Noctis as he reaches to grab hold of the edges of the open moonroof.

"Hang on," says Sapien.

They are in very dangerous territory. It's dark and the moon is not quite out. For it is still a young night. It is not quite full and not quite as bright, but it is dark enough. There are explosions all around them as each side unloads its artillery on the other. The infantry are on the front lines and about to approach each other in a clash of the nations. Shields have been activated around each side. The Nihil side is more equipped and more prepared but it is not his men that he is worried about. To wipe out the entire army of the Tenebrae had never been his objective. Wasted blood was so much more mournful than blood well spent. This situation qualified for the former.

Sapien is swerving the car dangerously close to the gunfire from just about everywhere to reach the small space between the currently warring nations. He takes a little bit of comfort in the fact that this was not his idea this time but it was he who would be the lead character in this warped stage production before them. Not that he is ashamed to play the fool. Everyone already knew that. He's never tried to prove that he was anything but. There was just the fact that this was important and this needed to work. But, who ever ignored a fool? So he can deal with that as long as it stopped.

He pulls himself through the moonroof to stand upon the rooftop as the car speeds along the front lines and has a moment to marvel that Sapien was right. The cracks of explosion and the booms of impact were much like fireworks. He can hear the whistling sound of an approaching missile and his insignia flashes. He tries his best to make sure its at its brightest and all his swords are visible with the flash of crystals as it blows up around the car. The impact knocks the car to the side but it does not rollover and continues to speed along.

"STOP!" he shouts as loud as he can. He throws up his arms as his shout echoes in the silence that his powers have caused.

The essence of crystals. The swirling of his swords and the bright flash of his rune seem highlighted in thick, dark night around them. With no sufficient moonlight, he wonders if he really does look like he's flying. As he takes in the stunned faces of the men from both sides, he wonders how he must look. The fool or, as Stella had imagined him, a dark avenging angel. Either will do as long as he gets them to stop. The two prominent fingers of his right hand go up in front of his face and all his swords tilt to take aim at everyone surrounding them. Closing his eyes in concentration he telelports here and there and back to front and he does it so fast that it almost looks like there are four of himself streaked in blue.

"Now!" he shouts as Sapien slams on the breaks and he teleports off the roof and onto his feet on the rough ground. He makes sure that the flash of crystals is exaggerated as the remnants of them shoot away like the embers of a fire.

There is a moment of stunned silence. Nobody moves as he gulps to gain his breathe and hopes. Hopes that at least in this, he has not been a fool.

"That is enough!" he shouts.

The silence is a tense and he begins to doubt this has really worked. Cheap visuals could not possibly stop such intense fighting from two bitter rivals. But nobody has moved and they are all staring at him as he is surrounded entirely by blue light. Then, finally he hears a movement, from the Tenebrae side.

"Your Majesty?" he hears and he wants to cringe but doing so would give the wrong message to the Tenebrae on his side. He was not the one he would have preferred but he was familiar and it was good enough.

"Yes, it is I," he answers and he hears as men are pushed aside and he finally sees the person behind the voice. "It is nice to see you again, Lord Nuntius."

"And I you, your Highness!" Nuntius cries in what he decides is relief. He knew he had been right when he had first met this man. He was not fit to be a soldier. He had grown too soft and overindulgent and he's forgotten what it's like to be a soldier. He still did not entirely trust him but he does not have much choice.

Nuntius walks close to him but not too close, his insignia is still emblazoned. He sees the fear behind the older man's eyes for a moment before that easy smile covers his face. Nuntius bows to him and turns sharply to his men. "Arms down!"

Noctis turns around and stares at the soldiers of his army. "Arms down. Now!" His tone is authoritative and demanding and his right eye flashes red into their shocked faces. There's the flickering of hastily disarmed weapons and then there is silence as nobody knows what to do next.

In the corner of his eyes he can see a light. It's far enough away that its not easy to see but his sharp eyes can see it clearly. He turns to look, the collar of his jacket covering the lower part of his face. There is someone standing on top of the high risers within the city, staring at him. They are surrounded by golden light and from this distance he cannot see the expression on their face but there was no way he could not know who that was. Though they are too far to really have eye contact, he knows. He knows that they are. He can feel the anger boiling inside of her. It's barely contained and threatens to explode. He cannot blame her and he cannot console her but he wishes he could try.

_Connected. Severed. Betrayed with wounds that have not healed._

_Wounds that can never be healed_, he thinks back. He feels the weight in his chest build as he continues to watch her. Even from here, she is a vision that he cannot stop looking at.

"Your Majesty, where have you been?" interrupts Nuntius.

It breaks the connection with Stella and his eyes glare at the older man.

"I merely wanted to take up an offer for a tour that was offered," he comments with a sniff. Fools do not forget to put on a show.

Nuntius looks dumbfounded for a moment as he tries to find a reply.

"I believe I was asleep until late this afternoon so I had not heard the broadcast," he makes sure to give a sly smile as he says, "Had a bit of a crazy night last night."

Crazy, yes. But, not in the way he knows the man must be imagining and it's just what he wants the man to believe.

"I am afraid I never even made it outside the borders of Nihilsomno. I do want to give my sincerest apologies for this misunderstanding," he even deigns to shrug. He manages to catch himself from closing his eyes and cringing at his own callousness. He knows too soon Nuntius is going to know exactly what he has done. He's only bought time, time for him to get back to his city and confront the counsel. Then the real battle will begin. He just needs to buy some time.

Lord Nuntius sputters a bit in disbelief but he thinks he's been successful in convincing him. "This is an outrage and you must agree!"

"Yes and I intend to take this up to Lord Aenigma myself. There was no foul play. Please let me give my condolences. As an act of good faith, I shall pay an official visit to Tenebrae myself."

The man looks at him doubtfully for a second until he realizes that it's disrespectful and gives a small bow in acceptance.

"I will have to consult my King," he answers and Noctis barely contains his cringe.

"Of course," he says and he tries not to give anything away in his expression, except aloofness. "I will see Lord Aenigma directly." He nods respectfully to Nuntius and waits for the man to address his men before he turns to look at his friends and the men of his army. "Stand back immediately."

They look back at him as if they are not sure what to do. He is the crowned prince but he has never exercised his authority before. His eyes fly to who he can only assume is the commanding officer and makes sure his eye flashes red as he regards the man.

"You heard Prince Noctis," the man responds shakily. "Retreat back!" He turns back to look at him hesitantly.

"What exactly were your orders?"

"We were told to retrieve you, Your Highness," is the reply and his voice is steadier this time. He can no longer see the fear in the man's eyes and he wonders how accepting the rest of his subjects would be if he had demonstrated what he had in front of them. He figures not many and he's instantly impressed.

"Now that you know I am here and well, I can trust that you have accomplished your mission?"

"Yes, yes of course," the man reassures and its such a rare thing that he is shown such genuine respect that he finds it takes a little bit of the weight away from his shoulders. He needed as many allies as he could find.

"Can I trust you to lead the men safely back to our borders...?"

"Miles, Major Miles."

He lowers his voice so it does not carry. "Major, I want you to order your men to retreat but stay on alert."

He can see the curiosity in the officer's gaze and he sees. He can see that this man has seen through his foolish disguise knows. He knows that he is not who he shows himself to be. It makes it easier for him to speak the next words. "I am going to have to count on you in the case of something happening. When it does, I want you to work closely with these three men," he says pointing towards his three companions.

The words begin to sink in and understanding dawns within Miles' eyes. "I understand, Your Majesty." Then he knows, that this man trusts him and would help.

The difference between a fool and an idiot is that a fool knows what he is. He knows he plays himself a fool and is aware of how people perceive him. They are also more keen and more observant than they are given credit for. Who better than a fool would know who else was a fool? As he looks as Major Miles, he can see that this man is not an idiot. He can see within the man's eyes that he is, a fool as he was and he needs that. His lips curl into a knowing smirk and nods his head. This man was his kind of fool.

Turning his head he looks at his friends. "We must hurry to Nihilsomno."

The three of them nod and the four of them get back into the car. Once inside, he shuts the door, but opens his window to look at Major Miles again. He reaches out his hand to him.

Miles takes hold of it for a moment. "You can count on me, Prince Noctis," is the answer to Noctis' unspoken question and it's followed by a deep bow and salute.

Unconsciously, his eyes look beyond Major Miles to the spot of gold light still standing where he had last seen it. He closes his window and watches as the color darkens because he cannot look at that just yet. He cannot allow himself to look at her now. It reminds him of what he has lost and what he has done and he needs to focus on what he must do. He cannot hear words but he can feel emotions and they tell him that there are no words that can bring comfort and no words to fully express what she must be feeling. What a poison he was to do this to her. Yet he found he craved her still, as impossible as it should be, like a drug and he knew. He knew their next encounter was to be tragic. Such addiction and craving and longing never led to good. This would not be the exception, but he would try.

_We should have stayed away,_ he thinks as Sapien drives away and he does not turn back. He does not because he cannot. To do so would see him running back to her. Running back to let her do whatever she wanted to do to him. He owed her that much, but he could not do that. Just not yet.

The ache in his chest returns and he feels as if it has begun to sting.

"Well, it did work," comments Des, drawing him out of his thoughts.

"Who thought it wouldn't?" asks Sapien with a smirk.

"Never had any doubts," said Vires with a smug look on his face as he crosses his arms.

"We'll have plenty of opportunities to go down in a blaze of glory," says Des confidently.

"You don't think we'll have problems getting across the borders this time, do you?" asks Vires and he remembers the collapsed bridge.

"I'm sure the army took care of that," says Sapien confidently.

"I love army efficiency," says Des. "Makes me wonder why I never thought to join."

"You would have never made it past basic training," says Vires.

"Why?"

"He who cannot drive and talk at the same time is asking this," states Sapien.

"One track minded determination never hurt anyone," says Des defensively.

"You would be fine in the army, Des," says Noctis. He says it almost absently because he feels, strange somehow.

"At least someone has faith in me," Des says happily. Then he turns around to look at Noctis in the backseat. "Is this another topic we shouldn't talk about?"

"What do you want to know?" He knows he owes them any explanation that they want. The ache in his chest becomes more than a mere discomfort. It has become a pounding sting but he tries not to show his discomfort to his friends. It's all he can do to not clutch at his chest.

"It wasn't your fault," states Sapien.

"Yeah, how were you to know it was her father?" asks Des.

"The fault lies in the fact that it would not have stopped me," he nearly hisses because the ache in his chest is tightening even further and he feels like he cannot breathe. All he can hear now is the beating of his own heart and suddenly he's light headed again and...

"_Mother wishes that I should never see the light,"_ he hears his younger voice say in a pout.

"Did she now?" a male voice responds and it might just be the only male voice that has ever made him feel so reassured. He pauses his task of picking the prettiest flowers and looks up from the flowerbed to the calm face of his father. "Did she tell you why?"

"She says I would have a happy life," he answers and he is sure the disbelief is evident on his face.

"Why would you like to see the light, Noctis?" his father asks.

"I want to know everything. I want to be the most powerful king in the world!"

He can hear his father's low chuckle and feels himself lifted up by his armpits to look directly at his father's face. "But you will be. You just have to be patient."

"How when I cannot see the light?"

"The light is not everything my boy," comes the answer and feels the support his father's arms around him and he wraps his small arms around his neck as they walk along the grassy hill.

"But you can see the light and so can mother," he protests because he's not convinced.

"Do you see that Noctis?" his father asks pointing at setting sun.

His small eyes blink because the rays are still too strong to stare directly at it. "Yes but it's too bright."

"That is all the light you need to see," explains his father. "What more do you want?"

"That isn't the point, father!"

His father laughs and bounces him a little but he does not smile.

"Is there something wrong with me? Is that why I cannot see the light?"

"There is nothing wrong with you, my boy. When the time is right, you will know what your true powers are."

"Mother says I have to hide my powers when that happens," he grumbles because he still thinks that is unfair. He does not notice how his father freezes temporarily at his complaint.

"She is right to say that," and the tone in his father's voice makes him look at his face. "No one is to know of your powers until it is the right time."

"Not even my friends?"

"They should be fine."

"Then hide them from who?"

"Aenigma and anyone who you do not trust."

Aengima, just the sound of the man's name causes distrust to flair in his heart. His father's laughter distracts him.

"You really do dislike Lord Aengima, don't you?"

"Yes!" he cries. "He's... he's not pleasant."

"Putting it so diplomatically, even at your age," his father teases. "Already the makings of a great King."

"I shall be a great King. Won't I?"

"Of course you will!"

"I do not like Lord Aenigma."

"I would have to agree with you there, son."

"Then why do you keep him around?"

"Sometimes, Noctis, there will be people that you do not like and you do not think are pleasant. But an important part of being a good King is to know how to deal with them."

"Can you not just killl them?"

His father barks a laugh. "A good king knows that killing is not the answer to everything. Now betrayers are a different story but that is for another time. For now, there will always be men like Lord Aenigma and when you are older, you will understand that sometimes you need them even if you cannot stand them. It is your responsibility as a ruler, to know when to kill and when to show mercy."

"Why bother?" he asks genuinely perplexed.

"All in good time, my boy," answers his father as they approach the villa. "Now stop worrying about this nonsense about seeing the Light and powers and worry about getting those flowers you are holding safely to your mother."

The last thing he sees is his mother's familiar figure waiting patiently for them on the balcony, waving to them in greeting and he remembers not to ruin the flowers as he waves back.

"_Did the light give you power?"_

"_No, I don't need anything like that. I'm fine how I am."_

Fine would not be a word he should have used to describe himself. He had said it to throw her off but it had also been a little bit of the truth. His powers had not exactly been provided by the light and he wishes he had not been so eager for the things he had to suffer with now. Not for the first time he curses that his parents had been taken away from him too soon. There had been many things that they must have wanted to tell him but they knew, they knew he would not have understand nor would he have probably remembered. Would it have been those thoughts that had run through their minds in those last few moments of their lives? The regret. The worry. All the things that they knew he would have to suffer when they had been forced to leave him behind.

His hatred for Etro deepens.

He opens his eyes and sees the highway of the city and the quickly approaching high rises.

"They're happening more frequently," says Vires as his eyes begin to focus.

It is still night.

"I have been overexerting myself," he shrugs.

"More than overexerting," states Des. He can see Des looking at him with a worried expression on his face.

"Your powers have been more unpredictable," says Sapien and he sounds worried too.

"How long was I out?"

"Not as long as a couple days ago," says Vires.

"Noct, what Stella said about the last crystal dying..."

"I know," he says. _The last user of the crystal would gain the prize._

"Did you see anything in the temple for Etro?" asks Sapien.

"I saw the severed tentacle I cut off," he says it as casually as he can but he can feel the dread coming from his friends.

"You, you really did cut it off?" asks Des.

"That was not a dream," he states.

"How is such a thing possible?" wonders Sapien.

He can only shrug because he has never really given it much thought. It was one of the few things he has never regretted. He watches as they are finally within the streets of Nihilsomno and he can see the castle in sight.

"What was the plan going to be?"

"If you hadn't woken up, we would have gone to my place," says Des.

"Now that you're awake, whatever you want to do," finishes Vires.

"I need to confront the counsel."

"Just as I thought," says Sapien knowingly. Which was why they were already driving towards the castle and not Des' house.

"Do you think they'll be in meeting now?"

"I have no doubts," he responds.

"Are you sure you're up to it?"

"Now or never."

"Are you going to kill them?" asks Vires.

He wonders what his father would have done. What he would have said to him. It would be so easy to walk in and slaughter them all. He could do it so quickly and not have to worry about their scheming and their plots. All these years of hiding his true self and now he was to confront them as himself. He may have been Fortune's fool but he most definitely was not Fancy's fool. It was time to drop the act and rise. He did not have a lot of time.

Sapien parks the car at the entrance gate and the four of them get out together. The guards are stuif at attention at the sight of him, but they do not otherwise react. He waits until his friends are behind him before he makes his way inside. The guards bow to him then, as he enters. Nobody stops them as they walk through the dimly lit, gothic halls. The castle's alight, even so late at night, signaling the sleepless activity within its walls.

Very rarely had he ever ventured towards this wing of the castle but like everything else, he knows the way blindly. There was not an aspect about his home that he did not know about.

Somehow knowing that his friends flanked behind him, made it easier. He does not know what he had done to have such loyal friends and he has no idea how he was ever to repay them.

"They're all in there," says Sapien looking at his handheld.

The four of them turn the final corner and he does not even stop to pause as he pushes open the double doors leading into the counsel room.

The echo rings into the high vaulted ceilings and the grand chandelier blazes in all its glory above. The room is such a combination of black and white that he thinks how ironic it is that all the men at the table were neither. They were grey. What they did have though, was fear and they all feared him now. He hopes its enough. He hopes they will at least see and do what is necessary, as he needs to.

"Your Highness," says Aenigma as he stands up from his chair to greet him.

"Highness," the rest exclaim in mock surprise. The sound is so fabricated that he almost loses focus.

He walks further into the room with confident strides. "Now, let us just look past the fact that you tried to entrap me."

"That was simply a misunderstanding…"

"What did I misunderstand about you sending soldiers to attack me within my very own chambers and then chase me and my friends out of the city?"

"How else were we to know?"

"Maybe if I could ever trust the lot of you, I would have told you outright."

He can see Aenigma's jaw clench.

"We shall deal with my assassination attempts later," he says dismissively because right now, it's not that important.

"In favor of which topic, your Majesty?" asks another man at the table.

Noctis' eyes flash to his and he knows his eye is flashing red. He watches as the man leans back in his chair but otherwise does not give away his fear.

"We are on the verge of war and no," he says putting his hand up to stop their protests. "Not a war based on false pretenses."

"What happened while you were in Tenebrae?"

He gives Aenigma a hard look before answering. "I killed the man responsible for the deaths of my parents."

All heads at the table snap at attention.

"Good," says Aengima and it's one of the rare times he sounds sincere.

"There is a problem."

"What?"

"It was the King of Tenebrae."

The tension mounts within the room and he was not even finished.

"I burned down a temple to Etro."

"Are you mad?" exclaims one of the counsel men.

"It gets worse," he reassures and he almost wants to smile.

"How could it possibly get any worse?"

"He was part of a group that watched over the users of the crystals. He was the leader and was in the service of Etro herself."

"Go on, your Majesty," says Aenigma.

"I believe that they may have brought her out."

"What are you talking about? Out of what?"

"You, you didn't," stammers Aenigma and Noctis nods in response.

"I did."

"What are you talking about? What is going on?"

"Etro has been trapped all these years and she has been released."

"Trapped? I thought it was said that she was asleep."

"Not asleep, but trapped."

"What? How do you know this?"

"I put her there."

There's not even a gasp that follows because everyone is too shocked to utter a sound.

"How, how did you manage that, Highness?" asks Aenigma and he looks so clearly shaken by this.

"I do not know. Just that I did it. I pushed her through the door. She must have been trapped all this time. What I did was real. I saw proof of it when I saw the arm I had severed within that temple."

"And now they have somehow opened the door to the dead, again."

"We are dead. If Etro is released, her wrath will be…"

"The crystal. We still have the crystal."

"Not for long" says Noctis. He looks straight at Aenigma.

"No," the man says faintly.

"I am dying," he says. They all knew what that meant, but he says it anyway. "The last crystal is dying."

He sees the torn expressions on all their faces. He turns to look at his three friends before turning back to the men seated at the table. They all knew what this means. With his death there would be no user of the crystal. There would be no crystal to protect them. No crystal to help their advancements and nothing to stop the other countries from invading.

"How long?

"Not much longer."

"This is a disaster," one councilman says.

"There is another user of the crystal."

"What? That is not possible."

"Many things should be impossible. I am proof of that."

"That affects much."

"Not our crystal's outcome."

"You should have told us," hisses Aenigma. "We had a right to know that our own monarchy is all but dead."

"You knew that before," he says giving him a critical look. "You have always known."

"What are we going to do?" asks someone else.

"You can start by desisting from trying to entrap me and save Nihilsomno," he hisses in reply, giving all the men sitting around the table a glare. They were too busy hiding in his room and playing in the dark to know what it was like to be out there and facing everything that they decided within these walls.

"My lords!" shouts a man servant as he bursts through the room.

"What is it?" asks Noctis as he turns to look at him.

"A small faction of the Tenebrae army has broken through our borders and is attacking within the city."

"Damage?"

"Not too extensive but we cannot be sure," the messenger says hesitantly. "The rest of the Tenebrae army is quickly approaching our borders."

"Where is this small faction now? How many are there?"

"We cannot say for sure, My Lord."

"Why not?"

"We can't find them."

"What are you talking about?"

"They've set up strategic explosions around the city but we cannot physically find them. It's like they're ghosts."

_Stella. Stella was here. _He could feel her and he can feel the blood beating hotly in his chest.

"_The night is darkest just before the sun rises in the sky. It is the twilight hour and you must get through that. Things will only get darker until the blackness looses the battle against the light."_

He can hear her voice in his head and she had been right. It was time to let the light win. He would let the light win and there was only one way to do it.

He reaches for his earpiece, knowing who would already be waiting for his command and presses the activating button.

"Major Miles," he says.

"I am already within the city walls, your Majesty," is the answer. "I have already divided up my men to find the threat."

"Keep as many alive as you can," he orders. "My men are on their way."

"Copy that," Miles replies and Noctis closes the connection to address the counsel.

"We cannot fight within the city. There will be too many casualties."

"I advise that you try opening a communication to Lord Nuntius," he orders.

"Why should we make peace with them?"

"Because there is no gain in death," answers Noctis.

"We still need to give a show of force."

"Fine, but casualties are to be kept to a minimum. Do I make myself clear?"

Aenigma looks at him grimly but nods anyway.

"If this group is found, I do not wish them dead either."

"Why not?"

"A show of good faith," he answers secretly and begins to walk back out the door.

"You aren't going yourself, Your Majesty."

He stops and turns his head sideways. "I have a debt to repay."

They wait until they are a safe distance away before his friends start to speak.

"Noct, what are you going to do?" asks Sapien.

"What I have to," he answers.

"That's not good enough," says Des and the tone of his friends makes Noctis stop.

His stiff shoulder slump a little as he sighs.

"We knew this would happen some day," he says. "Right?" He turns around to stare at his friends.

"It doesn't have to end this way," says Vires.

Explosions go off but they're a little distance away. They make him turn back. "Yes it does," he says firmly because he believes it. "Someone has to stop this and this is the only way."

"What is he going to do?" Des asks Vires and Sapien.

Sapien gives him as assessing stare and his eyes widen. "Stella is here, isn't she?"

He nods.

"You're going to..."

"Wait, you're going to let her kill you?" asks Des in disbelief.

"Why?"

"She kills me and justice will be done." The revenge would be complete.

"She would get the prize," states Sapien.

"She would know better than I to wield that gift," and it was true. He was too dark and too tainted. There was no other choice. It was Stella who should be the one to take whatever the prize was.

"What if it doesn't work?" asks Sapien.

He turns his head and smirks. "Then I know you will think of something that will," he says and before they can say anything else or even try to follow him, he's gone.

It was not fair to leave them like that but he has no choice. They were never the most sentimental of people and he was not about to start. His life had always been a risk and he also knew that it would be short. Fortune's fool and all that. He is just thankful that he had, had friends like that while he had been alive. That he had never been completely alone. Even though he was now going towards his death, he did not feel the burden of fear. He who had been surrounded by death all his life would not fear the face of it.

He's running and he doesn't think he's ever run so fast before. He supposes he has never had a reason to before. Before her because it is her. He can feel her. She is close and he can't run to her fast enough. Even if he knows that one of them must die, he does not feel too regretful because he knows that this must be. He knows what has to happen and he is glad that she is angry. She will be too angry to hear the whispers warning her what he plans to do and he can use that to his advantage.

He's finally reaching her and he comes to a skidded stop. There are no words to describe what he feels when he sees her there. For there she is, standing there with her face turned away from where she knew he was going to be. Her eyes are closed for a second and he has that moment to stare at her. Because even in her pain. Even in her grief, she's still such a stunning picture. Wearing a black dress and a white sweater and he's never thought he's seen such beauty before. How well the blackness suited her as much as the white. How she balanced both so well.

Tentatively, he takes a step towards her and she almost runs to him. He can see her face and he feels his heart swell because he knows. He knows in that one look at her raw emotion that she does not completely hate him and he knows he's making the right choice. He allows himself a pang of immense regret as he activates his rune. He sees how her steps immediately stop and she remembers herself and what she needs to feel.

Her powers flair before him for the first time and he tries not to let his surprise show. How it perfectly matched her. She's golden and her rune is a Koi. Koi and he wonders just how their insignias had been chosen for them. For she really was a Koi. For she was always wanting. She was always romantic and she was always, always passionate. He watches with rapt attention as she summons her sword and it's a rapier. Nothing had ever been done by halves with her and he almost hated what he was going to do.

They face off.

"I don't want to do this, Stella," he steels his face into a cold expression because he needs to use her passion.

"It's not about what you want," she answers him as her face becomes clear of all that raw emotion from before. "Its about what must be."

He does not have an answer to that and she does not give him time for one as she lunges towards him and their battle has begun. Then swords clash and there are flashes of gold. He sees his blue and he sees her gold and even in the midst of their battle, he can see that they do not combine. He goes on the defensive and lets her attack because he does not want to hurt her.

But this only makes her angry.

"Did you hesitate with my father?" she asks as their swords come together with a clang. Her face is so close to his that he can feel every breathe that she withdraws from between her lips.

"No," he says and it is the truth. He did not hesitate, but he felt so much regret.

"Then don't hesitate with me!" she cries and she pushes him back roughly before taking aim at his head. He swipes her sword away and she uses the momentum to flip over him.

The fight continues and he realizes that he needs to show that he is complying. With a slash, he's gotten her arm but he's careful not to permanently damage her. She does not show him much quarter as she manages to take a swipe and catches his chin. He welcomes the pain because he is tired of feeling the emotional pangs he has experienced all his life.

"I don't want to kill you," he growls as they face each other again. He doesn't want to and he knows that he will not.

He sees her hesitate for a moment before she comes at him again. He deflects. She tries again. He can see the struggle inside her eyes as she makes to move to his left so he points his sword to the right and what happens next makes his heart stop.

The disbelief makes it as if time had stopped entirely.

"Stella," he says weakly as he realizes what she has done. It isn't supposed to happen this way! he cries within his head as he catches her in his arms. His eyes look at where his sword has been embedded in her chest and he thinks he's going to be sick. Then he looks at her eyes and she's smiling at him. They sparkle as they had when she had first turned him the night that they met. It makes his wretched heart beat again.

She laughs. Laughs not at him but at what they were and its as if she's relieved.

"We are not good and we are not bad. This is not wrong and this is not right. But it is what it was meant to be."

"Not meant to be yet meant to fulfill our destiny," he adds because they've said these words before. But he cannot accept that this was to be it.

"Mmmmph," she confirms his words with a slight nod of her head.

"No more nightmares now," he says and it's what he's always wanted for her. Just not this way.

Her laugh is a little stronger than before and there are tears flowing down the sides of her face. "Mean to the end," she jokes but he does not take it as so. He feels a stab in his chest as real as the one that's buried within hers. "You are not all dark now. I have taken some and given you my light."

That cannot be right. "I was not meant for the light," he responds because he was not.

"Don't make this end in tragedy. There must always be hope."

"For me?" he asks in disbelief.

"In you," she emphasizes.

He shakes his head as his mind whispers, no.

"You must find it at the end. There will always be an end to the night."

"Not when you have faded," he says with so much regret he feels he'll choke on it.

"We are two stars that have collided," she explains and he can hear her struggling for breathe. The shock has faded and he can see her fighting for a few more moments of life. Her eyes leave his and look at where he has killed her. "We were not meant to survive such a union," her eyes grow fierce. "But you will go on. Stake your claim forever upon what is yours."

"I will," he vows but he knows she cannot possibly predict what he is going to do for it.

"My dark and tragic prince… Noct," she says as she closes her eyes for the last time and he wants to shout at her.

Instead he leans forward to breathe in her last breath and says, "My bright star, Stella."

He kisses her forehead tenderly as he pulls away to look at her face. He envies the peace he finds in her face and he feels the magnitude of what he has lost in her passing. He feels all the loss. The loss of the things not said. The loss of the things he never allowed himself to fully explore. His heart clenches as he becomes completely overwhelmed with her leaving him, with her blood on his hands. Her blood that is seeping through the leather of his gloves. Her blood that was so warm that he could feel it through the layer.

_Not now!_ he hears whispered.

No, he supposed right now is not the time. There will be a time to grieve and fully express his agony. But now, now there is a mission. The quest to find hope and bring it here. He must do this. So he carefully lifts her in his arms and takes her away with him. The soft, swishing noise of his teleportation, the pool of her blood and the essence of crystals are what he leaves behind them.

A/N: So yes, Star Crossed was a sequel to this. I think a lot of you saw this happening at the last chapter but there have been hints for a few chapters now. There is going to be one more chapter and then an Epilogue. I can't believe I have reached this point already. Any other author's notes will be added to my profile.


	11. Consummo

Chapter Eleven: Consummo

Vanity. It is vanity. Life was vanity. Everything in life was vanity. No matter how good intentioned and no matter the accomplishments, it did not change that fact. It was all vanity. He feels this as acutely as he can feel the weight he carries in his arms. Oh how he wishes he could weep. Weep for the loss her and all that she had begun to represent to him. What she represents now is all the failure he has ever had to face. She was now the reminder of how tainted his very existence was. She had meant so much to him alive and now, in death, she meant everything.

It is said that a fatally wounded animal will seek shelter within its home. It is a natural instinct to want to go to a place you feel safest when you feel like the world is ending. His world was more than ending. No, it was shattering as crystal shatters around him when he teleports directly into the place he has always come to. It does not take any thought. It was not even a conscious effort on his part. He would go where he always went when he could not sleep, when he could not face, when he could not stand it any longer. Funny, that he could now do unconsciously, what he could not do while concentrating before. It's the first time he's been able to teleport someone with him and its fitting that it should be her.

With Stella in his arms, he stands just before his throne as he looks up at the moon. He sees the light flash more brilliantly than he has ever seen it and he knows. He knows instinctively that it is her light. She who could have brightened his world, would lighten his night.

_I could fall in love with you. I think I may have already started._

There had been no words to explain the extent of his bafflement at those words. He was many things but lovable had never been one of them. Who knew that you could love someone when you had known them so short a period of time? That someone who was still a stranger could make you feel such strong emotions. That you could feel so complete with someone so quickly. It had been irrational. It had been hasty. It had been wonderful. Now, it was gone.

_Stella, what have you done?_ he asks looking down at her peaceful face and his arms clench around her convulsively. _I know now. I know what you must have always known. That I wanted your love. That I wanted your revenge. But you wanted my redemption. You wanted to be my salvation. Oh, what a warped romance we have. But, I think you knew that too._

He clears his mind and his eyes to try to hear the whispers, but they are silent. He even calls to those voices but they do not answer him. It is a silence that he does not think he has ever heard before.

Abandoned, when he needed them the most.

_I will make this right. I swear I shall make this right_, he vows as he stares angrily at the light above.

Too fast. Too fast. It was happening too fast and he needed to catch up. His mind is positively reeling. Perhaps, it had been selfishness on his part to want to sacrifice himself so quickly. It might have also been a little bit of cowardice. To leave all the burdens behind, to leave it within the hands of someone else, but it had fit. It would have been a fitting ending to his tragic life. To have it stolen from him, to have Stella take it from him because she believed in him. That she had faith in him. That even in her revenge, she had wanted him to live. It was not to end this way. It was not meant to be lived this way.

This was a curse. This that was his very existence. It was a curse. It was a taint to the very existence of this planet. It was he. He was a disease that did nothing more than ruin all that was good. To ruin all that was pure. He was that. As proved by the woman in his arms. He had done this to her. He had killed her in every sense of the word. He had killed her the moment he had stepped foot upon those stairs. He should have know. He should have been stronger. He should have been smarter. He should have been so many things. So many other things except this curse.

_Just how many times could I break until I absolutely shattered?_

So distracted is he by his thoughts, he does not hear the cocking of a gun, but he does hear the sound when it goes off. He does feel the bullet as it slams into his back and pierces through his flesh. He does not however, let go of Stella. He does not even have to turn around because he knows. He knows who stands behind him and he does realize that this, this was how it was going to be. That at least in this, he may have a sense of satisfaction.

"Careless. Foolhardy. Arrogant," says the strong voice behind him. "I spent my entire life in the service of a family that did not deserve the power that was bestowed upon it. If anyone deserved the satisfaction of ridding Nihil of your line, it should be me!"

Ignoring the immense pain in his back and the breathe that cannot come fast enough, he kneels down and carefully places Stella at the top of the steps. Lays her like the willing sacrifice that is she upon a mock altar.

_I will make this right_, he reassures her as he brushes her hair gently away from her face and straightens to his full height. His insignia flairs before he can even fully turn around to face the man he has mistrusted all his life.

His right eye flashes red as he returns the glare directed at him. The smoke from the barrel still seems to linger as it remains fixed upon him. He would have shaken his head if he had not been so distracted.

Another common thing is said. Never, ever underestimate a wounded animal.

There is no restraint and there is no remorse. There is the sound of many blades being unsheathed and then there is the sound of impact. What is left is Aenigma standing before him, pierced by all his weapons.

"You forget," he says darkly. "I am already dead."

He sees the anger and he sees the hate and he's never seen a more genuine expression upon the man's face. Aenigma chokes on his own blood and falls backwards and his blades disappear before his body hits the marble floor. Even that is over too quickly. A lifetime of paranoia ends in a few seconds. It is also vanity. Vanity as everything else is vanity in his life. Over too quickly and over too fast, to be enjoyed.

His sigh exhales any strength he might have had remaining and he collapses onto the floor. The pain is absolutely searing and his blood drips upon the floor below him. He watches it drop and he's temporarily fascinated by the sight. Until he remembers. He remembers and he looks up and sees her lying there. She is lying there and he can almost fool himself into thinking that she is not dead. For it does not look as if she is dead. Looking at her, he can almost believe that she is merely sleeping. Merely waiting for him to wake her up. Wake her up to what? This waking nightmare that was his life?But would life be a nightmare if she were by his side?

"_One day the nightmares will cease. I will chase them away if I have to."_

Raising his arm to reach out for her, there's a crinkling sound of the leather he wears and that is when he senses it. There is another presence within the room. Another presence and he feels the hairs in the back of his head begin to rise. He hears the cawing sounds of a crow as it flies above him and he knows what is to come. What he has been waiting for all along.

"My poor Noctis," comes the voice. The voice that could have sounded melodic if had not known the person. The voice that seemed to mock him with just its sound. The voice that he has hated all his life. "Look what has become of you."

He does not answer because he knows how she must see him. He's lying on the floor, in a pool of his own blood and he's reaching for someone that can no longer reach back. Such a pathetic sight to be seen and he knows he must not give up this way.

"Will you not even speak to me, dear one?"

He sneers at the endearment. Since when had he ever been dear to her? Since when had there been any affection between them? There is no way he will accept any sort of retribution while lying pathetically upon the floor. So, fueling all his hate and all his remaining strength, he hauls himself up to stand and glare at her.

All this time. All these years and she looks exactly the same. She's just as beautiful and just as hideous as he remembers her to be. That fake eerie brightness that surrounds her remains. That imitation of motherly affection. It repels him even more now than it had when he had first seen her. There was no part of him that craved her embrace this time. Then he sees, he sees her missing arm and knows a little bit of justice.

"If you are here to get an apology from me, there will be none forthcoming."

She could do what she is known to do. She could torment him. She could kill him several times over. She could do whatever she wished and he would never, ever apologize for the things he has done against her since that day.

"Why do you hate me so, Noctis?" she asks curiously.

Her lack of anger gives him more pause than the sight of her before him does. He feels even more angered by her ignorance.

"I never asked to be chosen. I never asked for your favor," he hisses angrily. "You who took what was dearest to me. You who doomed me to a life of blackness and hate and you who has now taken the one person who could have made me want to live."

She does not even blink at his accusations, nor does she look at all sorry for it either. All she seemed to know was her own distress. "I was so very angry with you for rejecting me so," she laments to herself. "Cutting off my arm and then to push me away."

He frowns at her. Was so very angry, not still so very angry.

"It was not exactly you who trapped me so do not bother yourself with that," she says dismissively. "I suppose it served me right to try and meddle." She brings her face closer to peer deeply into his face. Her eyes stare into his and he feels as if she's burrowed into his very soul. "I am nothing if not selfish when it comes to increasing my collection. I think you know that more than most," she says. "Everyone hates death anyway. It is natural I suppose," she says with a shrug and withdraws.

"Who trapped you then?"

She almost looks fearful but she smiles too. "Everyone has a master. Everyone has a head," she sing songs. "But I am not here to talk of such things with you."

"Then what are you doing here?" he asks.

She actually giggles and he's never felt as perplexed as he does right now. Watching her, was to witness what true insanity was.

She arches an eyebrow at the look that must be on his face. "I have come to make amends," she says with finality and she leans in close to him again. "Tell me Noctis, if you had one wish. Just one wish, what would it be?"

"To have Stella live," he says without pause.

She frowns at him. She obviously had not expected him to say that. "Why? Why not your own life?"

"My life would only prolong the war. As I live, the crystal shall live and that would only promote the heretical government that has arisen. Stella alive would also appease the people's thirst for revenge."

"Killing off one of my faithful was not the most endearing thing you could have done. Serves you right that it was her father," she says but she is not upset, she's merely inconvenienced. "But why not ask for peace then? A wish for a different government."

"Stella would do that. With her alive, it would bring hope to her people and she could overthrow the hypocrisy here."

"You have so much faith in one that hates you so much?"

"If she hates me then she has reason," he states. Stella had every reason to hate him.

"Am I to understand that you do not wish that any government should have such an advantage as the crystals?"

"If such power is granted, it should be shared. Not horded away at the pleasure of only one nation."

"So the prize, if it were a wish, that is what you would use it for? Not for you own life?"

"Not my life," he says firmly.

"You are so peculiar in the way that you think," she says but it sounds like she's talking to herself moreso than him. "But I suppose that explains why your rune is a crane and your color is blue."

He had often wondered why his insignia flashed blue instead of red. Red was vengeance. Red was passion and he feels so much of both. Blue was supposed to calming. Blue was supposed to be mellow. He was neither. Blue was just not his color. It was the same with his insignia itself. He had never considered himself to be any sort of manifestation of it. The crane was honor and loyalty. He did not feel that accurately described him.

"Blue means truth," she says as if she's reading his mind. He thins that she probably can. "And you have both honor and loyalty as the crane does."

Though she does not say it as if it is a complement, he considers it too high praise.

"I also think you are afraid."

He jumps at her words, making a startled sound.

She smiles secretly at him. "Yes, you are, are you not my dear Noctis? You are afraid to live life and so you have accepted your death with ease. It sounds a bit selfish, do not you think so?"

He cannot answer her because what she says is true. He is afraid. Not of death but of life. He's afraid to live.

"What are you more afraid of? To live with Stella or to die without her?"

He does not answer her but he does not need to because she can see it clearly on his face.

"Come now," she says holding out her hand to him and he realizes it's from the arm that he had severed so long ago. "Don't act so surprised. I can heal it whenever I wish."

"Then why have you waited this long?"

"Gods do not have to answer every question," she says. When he does not reach for her hand, she grabs it herself.

As soon as her hand touches his leather clad one, the pain is gone. Gone like it had been the first time he had seen her. Not just his physical pain, but there is a lightness where he had felt so heavy before. His chest did not ache as it once had and his heart does not feel as broken.

"Power should not be exclusive to one kingdom, you say," she says as he stares at her. "I knew all along that you were special, Noctis. I suppose I was just selfish and wanted you all to myself but I knew then as I know for certain now. That you are destined for great things."

He frowns at that.

"Stella shall live," she says with a wave of her hand and he does not understand why he does not feel joyous at the proclamation.

He turns to look upon her body and finds it missing. It's irrational but he cannot stop the feeling of panic that arises in him. "Where? What did you do with her?" He does not understand why it feels like he's lost her all over again. It was as if just the sight of her body was an assurance in and of itself and now that it was gone, he could not take the loneliness. He wonders, wonders if his answer really had been easy. Had he secretly been afraid to die without her afterall?

"She is where she belongs," says Etro, vaguely. "Focus now, because I will not repeat myself."

He nods. He's ready for whatever justice she wants to execute upon him.

"Six crystals were awarded to men, yet through tyranny and selfishness, they had become imperfect, tarnished and then died," she says. "Ten shall replace them and ten will fulfill that which they had not been able to complete. Ten to be divided and ten to be received throughout the corners of this planet."

Six and ten. The numbers on the symbol. The numbers that surrounded the kanji of the crow of the Mysterium. Six was the past and ten was the future.

"It is up to you now," she says with a smile.

"How?" he asked skeptically. He did not like where this was going.

"The world starts anew, my beloved boy," she says and it does not even seem to bother her that he cringes at the endearment. "And I feel that I owe you this. The world starts anew and you have been chosen. You and Stella have been chosen to be the leaders who will bring this generation out of the darkness."

"I was not meant for the light," he says and she should know that.

She tilts her head to the side as she regards him. "Stubborn too. I suppose that shall change in time."

He merely frowns at her in response.

"It was not I who has chosen you, so do not look at me that way," she says with a frown of her own. "I am the one that is not good. You have always been what you have perceived yourself to be. That shall change."

"Why are you doing this? I know this is not your usual way of things." Her way of things was to trick, to cheat and to deprive. It was never to provide.

"You are too right about that," she says and she looks appalled at herself. "But as I have said, all of us have those that are above us and I have mine."

"You would rob me of death too? After you have robbed me of everything else?"

"I never took your friends did I?" she asks slyly.

"And you think that is graciousness on your part?" he spits out.

"Yes," she says with a smile. "This is why I love you, Noctis. You are the only one who could ever be brave enough to say such things to me and yet you know not to threaten me either."

She was mad as a hatter.

"You will live, as Stella will live."

"I do not want..."

"What you do is up to you," she says interrupting his objections. "Nothing is guaranteed."

"I do not..."

"This is your gift. You the last user of the crystal. Take advantage of it. Embrace the calling that you have been given," she says and her voice and her presence seem to blur and vanish quickly before his eyes. "Life is a stage and you are all merely players."

"Wait! I still have questions. Wait!" he shouts because he feels robbed. He's being robbed of any explanations on many of the other things. Other things that he never understood and had been forced to except. For once, he reaches out to grab hold of her rapidly vanishing figure. The scenery around him is changing but he can only focus on where she had been standing.

There are noises but he does not quite make them out.

"Woah! Noct, how the...?" he hears Des say behind him.

"Noct?" two other shocked voices say.

He drops his hand and blinks, twice to look about his surroundings.

His army is before him. The Tenebrae army is further away. They are all just outside the city limits and they are not fighting. Their weapons are drawn but not at the ready. They are all lying on the ground. The soldiers of the Tenebrae looked as if they had already begun to retreat. It does not look as if his appearance had caused them to do it either. At least, not this time. Something did not seem quite right. He could not put his finger on it. It felt like something was missing.

"Your Majesty," he hears behind him and he turns around.

"Major," he says in response and he turns to look upon his friends.

Just seeing them makes him feel better and he is sure the relief is written clearly upon his face. They, though, all look at him in surprise. They had expected him not to return and here he was, standing before them. They must have a lot of questions but he knows what they're asking now. He nods, just once and he knows it's enough. They relax but there is an underlying tension in their frames. He looks at Miles again.

"What is going on here?" he asks. He turns around and faces the army again. There's a sense of deja vu as he stares at all the men that have seen him appear out of thin air. They do not look as surprised as his friends did and he finds that curious.

"Princess Stella," answers Miles hesitantly and he can feel his ears perk up. "She just appeared and has ordered that her army stand down."

"They thought you had killed her," explains Sapien. "They were just turning back when you appeared."

He knows he has to apologize to them but the relief in their faces right now tell him that all is forgotten already.

"Where is she?" he asks, looking at each of his friends' faces.

"She left," says Vires. "She said there was much to be done."

He nods. There was much to be done and he knew she would do what she must. That rationalization does not stop the pang that he feels within his chest that he had not been given a chance to see her. It is irrational that he feel this way, he knew. This was what he had wanted. He had wanted her to be alive. He had wanted this for her, but he had not given thought to being alive too. Now that he was, he wanted to be with her and it feels as if that part of him that she filled was missing all over again. Could he do this without her as she could without him?

That is not what he should be thinking about right now. It was not the time to be overcome with this. He had done what he thought would make it right and he would find contentment in that. Everything else, he could regret later. So he turns back to his men. He still does not quite understand why something does not seem right as he looks at his army before him. The air around him was filled with anxiety.

"What are you not telling me?" he asks them.

"She wasn't what stopped the fighting though," says Des.

"Then what did?" he asks.

"Weirdest thing ever!" cries Des throwing his arms out.

"We all heard something that sounded like a pop or a pulse. A kind of boom. Then everything... everything just stopped working," explains Sapien but it's clear that he does not really understand either.

"What do you mean stopped working?"

"They stopped as if the energy had been zapped from them," says Vires.

"When you say everything, what do you mean?"

"We mean everything. None of our weapons worked. None of our comms worked. Nothing. Everything just stopped dead within its tracks," says Miles.

"Then we looked back at the city and..." says Des.

"What?" he asks and he turns to look at Nihilsomno. "I, I do not believe it." His voice is a whisper of disbelief.

The entire city was black. Black with lack of energy, lack of... crystal energy. The black buildings were almost invisible in the dark night. Now that he has noticed, that was what was missing. The lack of sound. The sound of pulsing energy that had always surrounded him. The silence that has replaced it was almost deafening.

_The world starts anew._

"I guess this is what they meant by starting over," says Sapien as he shows him the blank screen of his handheld.

"Not just our side, but the Tenebrae side stopped too?"

"Yes," says Sapien. "Everything that had it's origins with crystal energy has stopped."

"Noct, does that mean...?" asks Vires looking at him hesitantly.

Does that mean that he does not have his powers any longer? He tilts his head in question and is nearly blown backwards with the activation of his insignia. The men all around him do not fair as well and are knocked completely backwards and onto their backs from the impact. Blue light flashes more brilliantly than he has ever seen it and he wonders what he looks like. He can feel the power flowing through his veins and feels it rippling from his fingertips. His hands reach up to his face and he can feel the pulse of the crystal energy within him. It bubbles within his blood and he's never felt this much power within himself before.

"Holy..." says Des, sitting up on the ground. He looks torn between staring at him and the city behind him.

"What is it?" he asks looking behind him.

There are gasps as everyone stares back at Nihilsomno and sees the entire city lit up more intensely than they have ever seen. Every light is on, in every building, on every street. A few bulbs burst from the sheer amount of power flowing through the lines and he can hear it again. He can hear the pulsing sounds of energy that had filled the silence.

Then he feels something else. The ground beneath him shakes and he can feel it. He can feel the activation of another rune and he knows. He knows that it's Stella. Her powers have returned and her crystal is alive. She is close. His head snaps up to try and search for her. His eyes scan the backs of the Tenebrae army but cannot see her. He does not have time to look for very long when he feels it again. Another rune has been activated, but this time its further away.

"It has started," he says breathlessly as he feels yet another activate.

The other users of the crystals are realizing they have been chosen. New dynasties were already beginning to form in other countries all around their world. He can feel it. He can feel the other crystals and he can sense their energy. He can feel the power pulsing in the ground beneath him and knows, there is much work to be done.

The sky is beginning to change now. He can see the beginnings of orange streaks break through the blackness of the sky. The darkness is surrendering to the light as the sun begins to dawn. The twilight hour is over. The blackness has lost the battle against light. It is a new day. A new day to dawn a new era. A new era that he would be a part of. A new era with endless possibilities that he had never fathomed before. It was a brand new horizon, signaling an end. An end to the blackness that his life had been. The stage was being reset.

Was this how it was to be? Was it truly this? That life was a truly stage and they merely players? It seemed so fitting that it should be such. It all started with Noctum as the prologue. He had been the darkness. Then he had met the light. He had met Stella. He had, had his brothers. There had been expositus. The exposure of himself and the intentions of others. There had been the extraneus. All the things that had seemed to be so strange. There had been fugio. The escape from, not only his own emotional prison, his physical prison. There had been adamo. He had fallen in love, despite all his efforts. There had been coalesce. The growth that they had experienced together, no matter how confusing that had been. There had been mysterium. The mystery that had been uncovered. There had been reluctor. The struggle against himself, against Stella, against the council. Then now, was it consummo? Was this the completion of the play that was his life?

He wonders if that is really so, but it does not seem quite right. Perhaps, in a sense, it was consummo. This was the completion of the first Act of his life. Now, now it was time to start the second Act and maybe, maybe after this was all over, he would feel it was truly complete.

A/N: Epilogue to follow...


	12. Epilogue: Mundus Novus

Epilogue: Mundus Novus

A caravan of three, sleek, black cars speed through the city tunnel and make their way upon the main highway of Nihilsomno. The appearance of protection was still a necessary precaution in a world where everything seemed new and yet still the same.

"According to the state minister, the 13th peace conference with monarchs and Nihilsomno ended safely. Moreover, in the conference, talk about the peaceful use of our nation's crystal has resumed. The people hope for a period of peace lasting hundreds of years. Additionally, the time of Prince Noctis' coronation draws near..."

Alone, he sits inside the backseat of one of the cars, his cheek resting lightly against his gloved hand. Red eyes look pensive as he listens to the radio broadcast. The voice of the newscaster becomes lost to his hears as he lets his apprehension take over. His destination is in sight and he feels nervous. But he needs to do this. He needs to do this to move on. He has been dreading this moment since the beginning of the peace talks.

He had gotten into the habit of twirling the ring upon his finger when he became anxious. The only reason he has not resorted to it now is because of his leather gloves. The ring. Another gift from Etro that he had not realized he had been given when he had seen her. He had been plenty preoccupied at the time to notice such a thing. She had not physically put it on his hand, he was sure of that. He had not been that distracted. He only noticed it later, when he had been changing.

The ring itself suited his tastes. It was more the giver that had him trying to take the wretched thing off his finger than the way it looked. Only, he could not take it off. He had, had an irrational moment where he would have cut off his own finger to get it off but was quickly rebuffed from his friends. They had said it looked cool. He had said it looked like she had branded him as hers and he hated to be seen as a possession of hers. Even now, he could never trust her intentions. He would never understand why she had done what she had done. But he supposes he will find out eventually.

"We are here, your Majesty," says the driver and he feels his anxiety increase as he steps out of the car and onto the carpeted walkway.

He takes a moment to stare up at the building and does not hold back a sigh.

"Wait a sec," he hears and he allows himself a grin before he turns towards the voice.

"I was beginning to worry," he says, looking at his friends.

"We wouldn't let you down, Noct," says Des with a grin.

"The conference ran longer than I had expected," he says with a shrug.

"Here," says Vires as he hands him a garment bag.

"It was not necessary for all three of you to come," says Noctis with a raised eyebrow.

"We weren't going to miss this," says Sapien.

"Bunch of nannies still."

"Yeah, but you love us anyway," says Des.

"Go on," says Sapien, tilting his head to the men's room.

"We'll be waiting at the elevator," says Vires as the three of them watch him make his way.

It does not take him long to dress out of his usual outfit of leather and into the black suit his friends have brought for him. As he adjusts the collar of his dress shirt and jacket, he looks at himself in the mirror. It was easier now. Easier to look at himself in the mirror, now that he had done something about his guilt. Now that he had something to look forward to. He had begun to feel more free and more hopeful. The blackness no longer seemed to have such a strangle hold on him. Now, he could actually breathe.

"You can do this," he says to his reflection.

He returns to the lobby to meet with his friends.

A smirk crosses his lips as he looks at what they are wearing and he feels the deja vu all over again. Then the anxiousness settles in with it as the elevator doors close. The view of the city around him as he ascends is not enough to distract him from his thoughts and the ride is over before he realizes.

"You can do this, Noct," he hears Sapien's voice, muffled within the helmet he is wearing.

"Yeah, you can do this," agrees Des, his voice also muffled.

"Courage," he hears Vires say.

He nods as the elevator doors open and the floor is open to his gaze.

The entire floor looks empty. The tables have no settings and there is no background music on. There is the light hum of energy and the soft swishing noises within the ceiling high aquarium. Red eyes scan the room as the elevator doors close behind him and he waits until the cab is on its way down before he walks into the middle of the room.

Taking a deep breath, he gives himself a moment, as he reaches the bottom of the metal staircase leading to the upper observation desk. His eyes look up and his steps echo in the otherwise empty floor. Slowly, he makes his way to the top and that is when he can see her. Sees her now as he had seen her then. Her back to him as she observed the portrait of Etro. She's wearing white again and there is no other color that would suit her better.

He does not stop his slow steps as his eyes remain fixed upon her form. She is as mesmerizing to him now as she had been when he had first seen her standing there. Before, before when they had everything to lose and nothing to gain. Now, what would they have?

Breath completely leaves him as she slowly turns to stare back at him. The smile that spreads across her features and lights up her eyes makes his heart stop. He knows, in this moment, that she would forever render him completely speechless. She would rob him completely of any other thoughts but her. He feels his heart begin to beat again.

And this time, this time it is a hopeful heart that beats again.

* * *

The long Author's Note: _So, there is it. It is the end. It has been a long, arduous and often times tedious journey for me. Noctum was originally supposed to just a one shot. A retelling of the Cloud trailer. Then it just turned into this monster story that demanded more chapters. It was always intended to end though. I never start fics that I feel I am not able to complete._

_I have tried to write in every scene from the trailers into Noctum. I was halfway through the fic when I realized I never wrote about the scene where he's riding in the car and listening to the radio broadcast. My excuse being that Noctum was supposed to be a one shot and that scene was played before the fight in the Cloud trailer. I was ready to just ignore the scene all together but decided to be a little creative and put it at the end of the fic instead._

_I would like to send my heartfelt thanks to all those who reviewed and gave this fic a chance. All of you know who you are. Without your support, I don't think I would have had as much fun writing this fic._

_I know I left things open. Open to a sequel but I have not made any plans to write one. I do plan on continuing the story by way of one shots based in this verse that I have created. If anyone has any requests for said one shots, please let me know. I will take all requests into consideration._

_The one shot series that will follow the Noctum verse will be called, "The Eclipse Series". Please keep on the look out for it and an eye on my Profile. I update it whenever I can and you will be better able to keep up with updates that way._

_Lots of love and I hope you enjoyed the end. _


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